HALO: The Great Journey
by JM38LACK
Summary: Fighting the Covenant for over two decades, a SPARTAN II super soldier comes across a mysterious "Halo Array" Lost and without Human allies; he must work alongside a small group of his sworn enemies to escape the mysterious world. He must also overcome a personal conflict with an Elite that is bringing up emotions and Demons that the SPARTAN II thought he buried a long time ago...
1. Prologue

**FULL SUMMARY:**

* * *

Born on the planet Harvest, Red-098 grew up to a reasonably good life on a simple farm outside a simple town. That was until the age of six when he was kidnapped and taken to the planet Reach where he was forcefully conscripted into the SPARTAN II program.

It was there that Red-098 grew up to be an effective combat machine. But unlike the rest of the SPARTAN IIs who lost their Humanity by force; Red-098 buried his Humanity at an early age for one reason only: to spite Doctor Catherine Elizabeth Halsey. And so Red-098 went to extreme measures to make himself everything Halsey wanted of him, but also everything she didn't want.

Red-098 was unsocial: not interacting with the other SPARTANs unless he had to. He was violent: killing without mercy, and without remorse while also killing with violence when he could. He was quiet: Never speaking unless spoken to. He was skilled: Being more faster, stronger, and more intelligent, than many of the SPARTANs. He was loyal: Even though he did not interact with his follow SPARTANs, he would willingly die for them without question. He did what needed to be done: Always obeying orders; no matter what they were, and risking his life without a moments question for the mission. He was never alone...

Being an effective weapon against his opponents: Red-098 fought the Covenant Empire for 22 years before he was sent on a vital mission that would change everything he knew and ever will know.

Disappearing along with a Charon-class frigate titled the UNSC _Kryptonite_: Red-098 survives against impossible odds until 2555 where he is discovered by an unknown ONI _Sahara_-class prowler. And it is on that prowler where he is interviewed by ONI, and recalls the events that took place over the seven years he was missing.

But it Red is not safe yet as personal emotions and conflicts dig themselves up into Red-098's mind; and that same mind is battling against a force that defies the laws of nature.

Red-098 knows everything... Is everything!

**[ PROLOGUE ]**

* * *

_"Out there, we've walked quite friendly up to Death,-_  
_Sat down and eaten with him, cool and bland,-_  
_Pardoned his spilling mess-tins in our hand._  
_We've sniffed the green thick odour of his breath,-_  
_Our eyes wept, but our courage didn't writhe._  
_He's spat at us with bullets and he's coughed_  
_Shrapnel. We chorussed when he sang aloft,_  
_We whistled while he shaved us with his scythe._

_Oh, Death was never enemy of ours!_  
_We laughed at him, we leagued with him, old chum._  
_No soldier's paid to kick against His powers._  
_We laughed, -knowing that better men would come,_  
_And greater wars: when each proud fighter brags_  
_He wars on Death, for lives; not men, for flags."_

_ "**The Next War**"_

* * *

**September 4, 2555 ****[2153 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Unknown _Sahara_-class heavy Prowler.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

"Where did you hear that?" Master Gunnery Sergeant Ryan Oliver asked.

"I didn't hear it; I read it in a book my dad gave me." Lance Corporal Tom Harvad explained in his usual soft voice.

They had been discussing poems and poets for a while now. And it did not seem as if it were going to stop anytime soon.

"For flags, huh? Sounds like something _pre_-UEG." Oliver observed while scratching his shaved head.

"It is." Harvad confirmed.

"Who wrote it?" Oliver asked harvad in a curious tone.

"Wilfred Owen," Harvad replied "An English poet and soldier who was killed in World War I."

"Really? That sucks." Oliver remarked in a sympathetic voice.

"Yeah. He was only 25 when he died." Harvad agreed.

"And my brother was only 19 when I saw a Brute rip him limb from limb," First Lieutenant Frank Sullivan broke in with his gruff voice "And my son was only 3 when a Grunt sarcastically_ tore_ his face off. All my family were killed gruesomely save my older brother who was swiftly executed in an Elite round up."

From what was known, Sullivan had sort of rebuilt his family. But he had just recently found out about Reach. And unfortunately, his family was on Reach.

"Sir-" Harvad tried to say but Sullivan broke in before he could continue "You think some poet from more than 600 hundred years ago deserves more sympathy than the billions of Humans who were slaughter in this _'Mistake'_?"

"Lieutenant-" Sullivan broke in again "After everything we have been through, Corporal, I have never seen you show sympathy towards anyone who have lost their lives. But now, you show sympathy -and that's to a dead poet from over 600 years ago.

_The aggression levels are increasing. _"Cease your aggression, sir." Petty Officer Second Class Sierra Red-098 broke in before things got too heated.

The three turned to face him. "Just go back to playing with your gun." Sullivan aggressively told 098.

_Order acknowledged. _"Affirmative." 098 said indifferently as he went back to modifying his MA5C Assault Rifle.

098 would normally try to break up any inner conflict, but he would not disobey orders from a superior.

"Now," Sullivan continued "I respect you, Corporal. But I do not respect your choice of sympathy. We are on the verge of extinction -you all should be sympathizing for the Master Chief. We would all be dead if not for him!"

_Sierra-117 is not dead _098 decided to keep the thought to himself.

"We do!" Oliver broke in "Well, at least I do. I served with him, _dammit_!"

"Break it up." Captain Dean White broke in as he entered the armory through the armory's doors.

098 and the rest of the Marines immediately got up and snapped to attention for it was wise not to piss of White; for he had been through more than the 3 Marines, and even Sullivan knew not to irritate him.

"Captain." 098 saluted the Captain.

"At ease." White told them.

_Order acknowledged. _098 immediately sat back down at his work-bench but kept an eye on what was happening.

"How long have you been standing there, Sir?" Oliver asked.

"Long enough." White replied in his strong voice. White had the the strongest voice of any Marine 098 has served with. It may of been due to vocal reconstruction when an energy dagger almost slit his throat open. He was lucky to have survived.

"Now, Lieutenant, cool yourself; or remove yourself to the barracks. I doubt the Gunny wants a hot-headed NCO in his armory." White sternly told Sullivan.

"Yes, sir." Sullivan nodded in what seemed like embarrassment.

"Thanks, sir." Harvad nodded in respect at White.

"I'm actually here for the SPARTAN." White changed the topic quickly to prevent any more awkwardness.

With that being heard; 098 immediately got back up and snapped back to attention "Captain." 098 saluted.

"Spook will see you soon. They're just finishing up with the Commander." White said as he looked as his digital watch.

"Affirmative." 098 nodded.

"At ease." White told 098.

_Order acknowledged. _098 nodded as he sat back down at the bench he was modifying his assault rifle at.

"Right, now behave." White told the Marines as he made his way out of the armory.

"Yes, sir." The Marines replied.

The armory doors hissed as they closed behind the Captain.

"Sorry for offending you, sir." Harvad softly apologized.

"It's nothing." Sullivan sternly replied before he went to sit on one of the armory's benches.

The armory was typical for a _Sahara_-class heavy Prowler. It was small, with multiple weapon racks. Since it was a Prowler, it had limited weapons. 098 took the time to check what was present.  
5 MA5K Carbines,  
20 MA5D Assault Rifles,  
30 M6 machine pistols,  
60 M6H PDW pistols,  
20 M6D PDW pistols,  
2 W/AV M6 G/GNRs,  
40 M7/Caseless SMGs,  
35 BR85HB SR Battle Rifles,  
10 M363 RPDs,  
10 M319 Individual Grenade Launchers,  
35 M395 DMRs,  
3 ARC Carbine-920s,  
15 M45D Tactical Shotguns,  
15 M739 LMG's,  
10 SRS99-S5 AMs,  
300 Combat Knifes,  
2000 M9 HE-DP grenades along with multiple other explosive resources and enough ammo for each weapon to eliminate a large amount of Covenant soldiers.  
Again, not a large amount of resources compared to the amount on carriers, frigates, and cruisers. But it was enough for ONI and their small scale operations.

098 was planing on updating his MA5C to a MA5D. But he decided he would see what he could do to modify his MA5C.

"What are you doing, sir?" Harvad asked from behind 098. 098 immediately turned his head around to see Harvad peering over his shoulder.

_Allow me to elaborate _"Modifying this MA5C Assault Rifle." 098 explained.

"Isn't easier to just upgrade to the MA5D Assault Rifle and forget about the MA5C?" Harvad asked in a curious tone.

"I will take that action." 098 reassured.

"And modification is just something to do to pass time?" Harvad asked.

_Affirmative. _"Affirmative." 098 confirmed.

098 turned to see the armory door open and 3 SPARTAN IVs walk in.

"What's up?" The SPARTAN leader name Natrick Enterarj asked the Marines in his usual mocking tone.

"Fuck off, morons." Sullivan aggressively snapped at the SPARTAN IVs .

"Oh that's not very nice, _Green-Horn_." Enterarj shot back.

098 was not surprised when he heard about the SPARTANS IV (Nothing ever surprised him) What he did notice though, was the _IV_.

From what 098 had experienced with the SPARTAN IV's gave him a negative impression. When he first encountered them, the Commander of the group he was with refused to let him lead the group -even when 098 had more knowledge of the area and could lead the SPARTAN team around the enemy forces without contact. They refused to listen, and a SPARTAN IV was KIA. All the Spartan leader said about his dead comrade was "Soldiers die all the time." That was true, but Spartans were not normal soldiers, and they did not die all the time.

When he came aboard the Prowler there was a team of 5 SPARTANS stationed on it. They were worse than the team he encountered. These SPARTANS were cocky, aggressive, and loud. They acted like Marines or ODST's -which they likely were before they were conscripted into the SPARTAN IV Program. These SPARTANS were also aggressive towards 098. And 098 didn't know why. He at first suspected it was due to PTSD which made a lot of soldiers aggressive. But he dismissed that theory after the SPARTANS proved to be irresponsible.

These SPARTAN IVs would have served the UNSC for years in order to be initiated into the SPARTAN IVs, but it didn't look like they lost their cocky rookie personality.

098 came to the conclusion that they were just like that at heart.

"Oh yes! the old man is here." Another SPARTAN IV named Ivan Becker announced to his friends.  
_Conflict inevitable. Prepare to act._

"Don't start this shit again." Oliver told the SPARTAN IVs in an annoyed tone.

"Shut it!" Enterarj shot back.  
_Aggression levels rising._

"This is my damn armory -you shut it!" Oliver reminded the SPARTAN IVs.

"Yeah? well, I'm a higher rank then you. So I can have you court-marshaled for telling me to shut up." Enterarj threatened.

"And I'm a higher rank then _you_, Petty Officer." Sullivan broke in.

"_Boo_!" 098 turned to see that the third SPARTAN IV named Quary Vaine had snuck up on him and was right in his face.

_Close physical contact. Prepare to engage in melee._

"Disengage from close-to physical contact." 098 told the SPARTAN IV.

"_Or what_?" Vaine asked in a mocking tone.

"I am allowed to physically retain you if you do not disengage from close-to physical contact." 098 warned.

"He _really does_ speak like a machine." Enterarj observed.

"Piss off!" Harvad harshly told Vaine.

"I can have you court-marshaled for that." Vaine threatened.

"You can. But the UNSC are smart enough to ignore the pleads from a bunch of moronic soldiers." Sullivan loudly muttered.

"_We're SPARTANS_!" Enterarj reminded.

_Negative._

"No, you're not. I know what a true SPARTAN is." Sullivan said while pointing at 098.

"What? That _old-man_?"

"That old-man could kill you all in 10 secs." Harvad warned the SPARTAN IVs.

_Incorrect. _"Incorrect." 098 broke in.

"How long then, _old-man_?" Enterarj asked.

_Irrelevant. _"Irrelevant. It's not going to Initiate, sir." 098 reminded the SPARTAN IVs.

"But it could if we _wanted_ it to." Becker mused.

"GET OUT OF MY DAMN ARMORY!" Oliver yelled at the top of his lungs; finally snapping from the SPARTAN IVs stirring.

"Remove Yourselves, Morons!" Sullivan joined in.

"Fuck you's." Enterarj shot back.

All of a sudden, Vaine poked 098's face.

_Physical contact -engage _098 grabbed Vaine's arm, bent his arm back, breaking his arm -which was not easy, due to him being physically augmented- picked him up, and threw him into the wall across the room.

"FUCK!" Vaine screamed as he went flying.

Both Becker and Enterarj drew their M6H PDWs -098 drew his own M6D PDW.

"STAND DOWN!" Sullivan ordered.

098 noticed that Harvad had his own pistol drawn, and was pointing it at the SPARTAN IVs.

"What the fuck is happening now?" Captain White asked as he entered the room.

098 would've snapped to attention, but he had to maintain his guard against possible hostiles.

"He attacked us!" Enterarj tried to explain.

"You physically contacted me without my consent -I was within my rights to engage in melee to defend myself." 098 reminded the SPARTAN IVs.

"I hardly... _touched you_." Vaine protested as he got up, cradling his broken arm.

"Yeah, he overreacted." Becker agreed.

"Don't touch him next time." White advised the SPARTAN IVs.

"What the _fuck_?! He attacked us; and he's getting off?" Becker complained.

"Make a complaint if you have to," White told the SPARTAN IVs "Just don't bitch to me about it."

"The old-man is insane. He should be locked up." Enterarj said as he and his comrades holstered their M6H PDWs -098 did the same.

"Shut it!" White snapped before turning to face 098 with 098 immediately snapping to attention.

"Spook will see you now." White told 098 while keeping an eye on the SPARTAN IVs.

_Acknowledged. _"Acknowledged, sir." 098 nodded before making his way to the armory's exit.

"_Go on_, go suck up to ONI's tits!" Enterarj yelled as 098 and White left the room.

"You go on ahead. I sadly have to go deal with these dip-shits." White told 098.

_Acknowledged. _"Acknowledged, sir." 098 replied.

White then turned and headed back inside the armory. There was likely going to be more fighting, for even the Marines stationed on the Prowler hated the SPARTANS IVs. So it was no surprise that White and the rest of the Marines not posted on the ship hated the SPARTAN IVs even more.

It comforted 098, though; to know that the Marines would stick up for him when he was not in the position to tell the SPARTAN IVs off.

098 ignored the yelling coming from the armory and continued to the briefing room. It would not take long for 098 to reach the briefing room -because due to the Prowlers small size, the armory and the briefing room were in the same hallway.

"Don't worry; you won't get into over what just happened." 098 heard the Prowler's A.I -Designated: Frasine- reassure him through the ships speakers that were up in the corners of the Hallway's walls.

_I proceeded to have knowledge of this _"I proceeded to have knowledge of this already." 098 replied to the seemly invisible A.I.

"Of course you did." Frasine reminded itself as 098 arrived at the briefing room.

"Wait while I inform the '_spook_' that you're here." Frasine told 98.

_Acknowledged. _"Acknowledged." 098 said as he prepared to snap to attention.

"Done. Make sure to smile." Frasine jokingly reminded 098.

The doors opened to reveal the ONI interviewer. He was a small man, but had all the distinctions of an ONI interviewer: a bald head with a light stubble over his face, black glasses to hid his eyes, and a black formal suit to show he meant business.

The room itself was pretty standard for a ONI briefing room. 098 had seen plenty in his time; and this was no different, the ground was simple tiling, there was a table connect to the ground in the middle of the room with two chairs on either side of it, there were cameras in every corner of the room, and there was a kitchen area to the right as 098 entered the room.

098 immediately walked in and snapped to attention "Sir." 098 saluted.

"At ease," The ONI interviewer told 098.

_Order acknowledged _098 lowered his arm to his side.

"Take a seat." The ONI interviewer gestured at the seat that 098 was to use.

_Acknowledged. _098 nodded and took a seat.

"My name's Jarance West. And I will be your interviewer." The ONI interviewer told 098.

_Acknowledged _"Acknowledged, sir." 098 nodded

West took the seat on the opposite side of the table.

"ONI interview: Incident 071824260, session 1, begin" West reported to the cameras that were listening to every word and sound.

"Name and SPARTAN Tag?" West began questioning 098 while pulling out his Data-pad.

_Acknowledged _"Sierra Red-098." 098 replied.

"DOB?" West asked while writing 098's details onto the Data-pad with a stylus.

"January 24th, 2511." 098 replied

"Age?" West asked while he continued to write down details on his Data-pad.

"'45." 098 replied

"Home-world?" West asked.

"Reach. As for POB: unknown." 098 replied

"That's good enough." West ended the questioning while putting his Data-pad down.

"Let's start with the more interesting subjects," West told 098 while picking up his coffee mug and taking a sip from it "You went MIA in November 4th, 2547. You have currently been missing for 7 years. Do you understand?"

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 nodded.

"Good." West smiled.

"Now," West continued "You were enlisted into the SPARTAN II Program at the age of 6 and trained until 2525 where you were genetically augmented at the age of 14. You were crippled during augmentation and had to spend 2 months and 1 week in rehabilitation and 2 weeks refreshing your training before you rejoined your team. You fought the Covenant for nearly 23 years before you participated in the mission in which you went MIA -correct?"

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 nodded.

"I didn't get anything wrong?" West asked.

_Test._

"Negative." 098 shook his head.

"Good." West smiled again, as he picked up his Data-pad and began typing in details again.

"Now, the mission itself." West said.

_Affirmative. _"November 4th, 2547. Quaint: Eden System." 098 began "ONI excavation site at Forerunner installation on Quaint was compromised. ONI data falling into Covenant hands was imminent. Me, 4 ODSTs ,and 2 ONI scientists were Dropped in via D77-TC Pelican drop-ship. Team name: Vintage. Our objective: locate ONI data terminal, and destroy the data."

098 took a breath and continued "The mission was proceeding positively. Covenant contact was limited. Vintage encountered 3 Covenant scouting teams -each consisting of Elites, 2 Spec Ops class -the third Covenant scouting team had a Zealot class Elite commanding it, 5 Jackals, Spec Ops class, various ranks, and 12 Grunts, Spec Ops class, various ranks- We only engaged two of the Covenant scouting teams in combat."

"We found the terminal, and a Forerunner portal opened as soon as we took the data from the terminal. The ONI scientists were at first curious about the Forerunner portal. But ceased their curiosity after the ODSTs aggressively reminded them of the mission and protocol."

"Before we could leave the area for EVAC, a Zealot class Elite engaged us. He eliminated ODST Lance Corporal Evett Candraz before I engaged the Elite in hand-to-hand combat. I tackled the Elite -the hostel was strong, its energy shields were not deactivating, and my elimination was becoming inevitable. Before it could eliminate me, I tackled it off of the edge of the platform we were engaged on -it would eliminate us both, and buy the rest of team Vintage time- "

"Wait," West broke in "Start from the drop-off, and go slower. I need to hear every detail"

_Affirm- I Am The Monument To All My Sins._

"Affirmative." 098 replied indifferently.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you to all those who decided to read this, and I hope that you enjoyed it! And please leave a review telling me what you think.**

**Sorry for any typos or lore mistakes I might have made. I am a huge fan of the Halo Universe having read all the books and played all the games. But even so, I had to double-check a few things on the wiki -so I wouldn't be surprised if I made a mistake or two. If you spot a mistake, just point it out in a P.M or review and I will correct it as well as credit you for pointing it out.**


	2. Chapter One: Portal

**[ CHAPTER ONE: PORTAL ]**

* * *

_"As per Naval Code 45812, you are hereby conscripted into the UNSC Special Project, codenamed SPARTAN II.  
__You have been called upon to serve. You will be trained . . . and you will become the best we can make of you.  
You will be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies.  
This will be hard to understand, but you cannot return to your parents.  
This place will become your home. Your fellow trainees will be your family now.  
The training will be difficult.  
There will be a great deal of hardship on the road ahead,"_

_It would be hardship and we didn't even know about the Covenant yet._

* * *

**November 4, 2547 ****[0811 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard D77-TC, Inbound To Forerunner Excavation Site, Quaint, Eden System.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

The roars of the D77-TC Pelican's engine filled 098's ears. It was a comforting sound. For as long as the engines were loud, nothing was wrong.

098 had shared the Blood-tray with a large amount of Marines throughout his service, and they would often complain about the noise. 098 also used to complain during his younger ages as a kid when he and the other SPARTANs were being transported; but those days were long ago.

098 slammed an ammo magazine into his M392 DMR and slung it over his back where it immediately connected to the magnet strip on his back armor.

098 always didn't have a favorite type of weapon -he always used what was recommended for the mission.

But this time it was a M392 DMR. Due to its medium to long-range, it would be essential to dealing with Covenant soldiers from a distant. It had its drawbacks, though, for not being good at short-range, or its clips always being small. But 098 would only use the weapon when he knew that allied forces would be close to back him up.

098 figured out the strategy. He would engage the Covenant soldiers from a distance, and if they got too close, he would quickly switch to his M6D PDW and engage.

The ODSTs would only engage when 098 gave the order -that would prevent the waste of ammo.

With the 7.62×51mm rounds in his DMR, it would take one shot to the head to eliminated a Grunt, Elite, Jackal, and Drone; no matter how tough a helmet they may wear is. Brutes would often take two shots due to their thick skulls and reinforced caps. It may require more shots, though. Depending where 098 shoots.

Along with his DMR, 098 also had a M7S SMG equipped to his right thigh.

Loaded with 5x23mm M443 Caseless FMJ rounds, it dealt less damage than the normal M7 SMG. But made up for it in accuracy and tactical assistance. It would be useless against shields, however. But could tear flesh apart.

098 would save the M7S for quietly eliminating Grunts and Jackals.

On his other thigh: he had a M6D PDW.

Using 12.7x40mm M225 SAPHE Rounds, the weapon was extremely useful at short-range. 098 would only use it for short range combat. But if short-range combat would initiate, 098 would use the M6D to bring down shields before using it to finish opponents.

He would also use it at long-range if his DMR's ammo went empty. But 098 made sure he was supplied with enough ammo to last him.

If 098 Did have a favorite weapon: it would be the M6D. He made sure he had one everywhere he went. It was a useful weapon in all situations.

He also had 4 Frag grenades, 6 EMP grenades, and 6 Stun grenades on his grenade belt that went diagonally across his torso.

But no SPARTAN was complete without their MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark IV Armor.

With the Titanium Alloy Outer Shell, 098 and other SPARTAN II's could withstand small arms fire but would take damage from armor-piercing rounds. The armor was also covered in a refractive coating to withstand a little of the Covenant energy weapon damage, but would become compromised after one or 2 direct hits from plasma weapons.

098's helmet was also a vital tool. With the HUD that was connected to his brain and hands; he would be able to identify equipment he picked up, giving him extreme tactical assistance. It would also broadcast 098's vitals, ammo, motion sensor and weapon on his HUD meaning that he wouldn't even have to move his head to know everything he needed to know. His visor also adapted to the lighting of the area, so 098 could see in complete darkness.

Another vital asset was the Hydrostatic Gel which would conform to 098's temperature and keep him from getting too hot or cold. The Gel would also pressurized to absorb impact and would cushioned hard impacts.

The Magnetic Weapon Holder Strips were small but powerful magnets that were located on the armor's back, thighs, and waist which allowed 098 to cart multiple weapons into combat. There were also magnets on the bottom of the armor's boots which allowed 098 to walk on magnetic surfaces in Zero G. This could be toggled on and off by 098 at will.

A major inner layer of the armor was the Reactive Metal Liquid Crystal Layer which enhanced 098's reflexes, mobility, and strength to make the armor and it's wearer the ultimate weapon.

The pressure seal was an essential part of the MJOLNIR armor. It kept the armor pressurized while in space and underwater.

As for medical aid, the Biofoam Injector Port was where Biofoam and other medicines could be injected from a standard military medical kit.

And lastly the most important part of the armor; the Fusion Reactor. The Fusion Reactor provided power to all of the armor and equipment. Without it, 098 would basically be dead. So that meant that he and his comrades had to be careful around EMP devices.

With the most powerful weapons, equipment, and armor in Human history; 098 and his SPARTAN II comrades were the most powerful weapon Humanity had. And they were Humanity's only hoped.

"ETA?" ODST Captain Isaac Royce asked the Pelican's pilot over the COM channel.

Isaac Royce was a generic ODST Captain. By the sound of his accent, 098 guessed he grew up in Germany on Earth.

098 had not seen his face yet, but could tell that he was young by the sound of his voice.

"Minus 3." The pilot named Tuscany Clad replied over the COM channel in his odd accent that 098 couldn't pin-point.

_Negative. 3 minutes and 24 seconds._

"You heard her, girls. Lock and load," Royce told his ODSTs through the COM channel "Spooks, get your fresh pair of underpants packed, we're about to go in."

"Asshole." 098 heard one of the scientists mumbled over the COM.

"_We heard that._" ODST Lance Corporal Evett Candraz told the scientist in her South American accent.

Unlike Royce: 098 had seen Candraz's face. She was young as well. She had her hair shaved to near boldness. To make her look even more like a generic solider, she had an explicit tattoo of her naked torso on her neck, and a tattoo of some blood drops leading away from her left eye -like she was crying blood. She also had a tattoo saying "Fuck The E.T" On her right cheek leading up to her ear. 098 figured she also came from Earth due to her being Hispanic.

"Quit arguing over the COM." The Co-pilot who was named Amber Wong Told the ODSTs and scientists.

"They started it." 098 heard the youngest of the scientists -Ratchet Moore- complained from his seat.

_COM deactivated. _"Keep COM activated, sir." 098 told Moore in his naturally stern voice.

"I would've turned it back on." Moore reassured 098 over the COM after he switched it back on._  
_

Moore was unusually young for an ONI scientist. He had a slight stubble on his round face with his hair trimmed short. His voice was also very soft at times, further giving evidence that he is younger than 20.

"Always keep your COM on during a mission." The other scientist -who was named Timothy Preynar- told Moore.

This was Moores first mission. It would be normal for him to make rookie mistakes. But rookie mistakes got people killed.

"Sorry." Moore apologized in a soft voice.

098 heard the ODSTs chuckle over the COM.

"Don't be mean." Wong told the ODSTs.

098 got up and moved to the Pelican's bay door -ready to leap out when the door lowers.

"You just gonna stand there?" ODST Master Sergeant Jeff Woods asked 098 in his typical Slavic accent.

_Affirmative. _"Affirmative." 098 confirmed.

Jeff Woods was also a typical generic ODST. He had the rough attitude and a rough voice backed with a rough Slavic accent. He was also physically rough. He had a rough beard and long hair that was tied up into a ponytail most of the time.

He had a combat knife tattooed to his cheek leading from his mouth up to his left ear.

He also had more scars than any of the other ODSTs on the mission. Leading away from the end point of the tattooed blade was a scar that led from his mouth all across the left side of his jaw. 098 guessed the combat knife tattoo was for effect. He also had a large scar going across his forehead. 098 worked out that it was an Elite energy sword that caused the scar due to burn scars around the blade scar.

"We're still 'bout 2 minutes off." Woods told the SPARTAN.

"Does it matter?" Royce asked Woods "Let the SPARTAN stand. It may give him enough _exercise_ that he won't need to use the gym."

_Hostility detected. Mission success lowered._

"ETA 2 minutes." Clad told the team over the COM.

"_Your joking_! right?!" Moore exclaimed.

"You spooks are the jokes," Royce jeered "You think you can win this war with _psychos_."

_UNSC Atlas._

"Enough!" Preynar snapped "Focus on the mission, damn it!"

Preynar was not a man to be annoyed. He had a cold look and a cold personality. By the looks of it, he used to serve in the military due to his extensive scars. He was also very gaunt and had angry green eyes.

He was also the oldest person on the mission and the most intimidating; and he knew it, and he exploited that with being bald and clean-shaved so people would see his scars and add an extra amount to his intimidation.

"Quit arguing over the _damn COM!_" Wong shouted over the channel in her Chinese accent.

Moore let out a sigh as he got up and positioned himself so he could leap out after 098.

"Don't listen to them." ODST Gunnery Sergeant Dwayne Walker told 098 as he positioned himself next to Moore.

Walker was the only ODST on the mission that was not cocky, aggressive, and loud. He was quiet and didn't speak a lot. He was also friendly towards 098 -often trying to bring up conversations with 098 -which 098 sternly refused. From what 098 worked out, Walker was older than Royce.

He had a tough, quiet voice that set him apart from his team-mates. He also had his hair shaved to a small mohawk with a light stubble giving him the generic soldier look. He had no tattoos on his face, but he scars to make up for that. He had one scar that began from his forehead and circled around his right eye leading to the top of the right side of his lip. He also had one more scar leading from his neck up behind his left ear and over the left side of his forehead leading back down to the top of his left eye.

"You siding with the _damn SPARTAN?!_" Royce exclaimed.

_This hostility is irrelevant._

"There are only two sides, Captain. The Humans, and the Covenant." Walker calmly reminded Royce.

_Affirmative._

"_Well, well,_ Walker. Well spoke. You are a credit to the Corps." Woods sarcastically jeered over the COM.

_Aggression levels rising. Mission success lowering._

"Your forgetting about the fucking Insurrection." Candraz aggressively reminded Walker.

_Irrelevant at the current time._

The arguing was not good for the mission. But 098 wouldn't get involved.

"The Insurrection doesn't mean anything at the moment." Walker explained calmly.

_Affirmative._

"Bullshit!" Woods snapped "The Covenant are right are our fucking doorsteps, and the Insurrection is still a problem!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Wong screamed. Her scream was so loud that 098 squinted his eyes.

"Calm Down!" Preynar ordered the ODSTs.

Everyone went quite -it wasn't smart to continue when Preynar was pissed.

"Now," Preynar began "we have a mission to do. And we cannot have any personal conflicts endanger it. So, you will put away any personal feelings that you have for whatever stupid reason and you will think and function like soldiers -for if you don't... we will fail the mission... and the Covenant will get their hands on that data which the scientists forgot to take with them when they evacuated -yes, we 'spooks' make mistakes. Now, we will all follow Sierra's command. And you will follow his command or you will be court-marshaled. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

"Yes, Sir!" All of the ODSTs replied.

"Good," Preynar nodded "Clad, ETA?"

"Plus 1, sir." Clad replied.

"You heard her, 'girls,' get your asses behind Sierra; and prepare to make a quick entry." Preynar ordered.

They all hurried over to the bay door.

_Hostility lowering. Mission success increasing._

"Reduce distance in-case combat is engaged when the door lowers." 098 told the team.

They quickly did what he told them.

"Lower the bay door." 098 told Clad over the COM.

"Yes, sir." She complied.

098 raised his DMR as the bay door lowered.

"Will mark targets when spotted." 098 told the team.

098 heard a couple of "Rodgers" in reply.

The bay door lowered to the sound of wind whooshing past the Pelican as it sped forward.

098 couldn't see the Alien installation yet. But he knew he would get eyes on when the Pelican turned around to drop the team off.

"Sit-Rep?" 098 asked over the COM.

"All clear so far." Wong reported.

_Acknowledged _"Acknowledged." 098 replied.

098 looked around at the land that was whooshing past. There were distant mountains that were getting even more distant, trees along the hilly plain, and herds of Alien animals -that would die when the planet was glassed- were roaming across the plains

"We're closing in." Clad reported over the COM.

"Wait..." Wong broke in "We got a SDV-Class Heavy Corvette in the distance."

_SDV-Class Heavy Corvette: Roles: Advance reconnaissance, ship-to-ship warfare, ground assault, aerial support. Length: 956 meters. Width: 399 Meters. Height: 175 Meters. Known armaments: 6 full-sized plasma torpedoes, 12 pulse laser turrets. Threat level: high._

"Is it a threat?" Royce asked in a worried tone.

"Not unless it see's us." Wong reassured Royce.

"well, _will it see us?_" Royce asked; getting annoyed.

"Hopefully not." Wong replied.

"_And if it does?_" Royce asked in an irritated voice.

"They will likely come after us because we 'desecrated holy land' or something like that." Wong explained.

"What's the plan if they spot us? _for fuck sake._" Royce was close to snapping.

"Depends on the situation," Wong explained "Don't worry, Captain. I have it planned out."

Royce let out an annoyed moan as he quit pursuing the topic.

"Mark targets when spotted and only communicate using COM but maintain radio silence when contacts are near. Weapons are not free." 098 told the team as the Pelican began to turn.

098 then saw it. The Alien installation was neither Human or Covenant. And it was definitely created by an advance Alien race for the installation was constructed with an advance metal -not concrete or stone.

Facility, artifacts, and installations similar to this one had been found all over Human controlled space. And it is believed that the Covenant worship whoever made them due to translations of Covenant scout team chatter.

The installation was large; about as large as a small city. The installation was underground, so it was mostly still being dug up when the Covenant arrived. What could be seen, however, was the rich engravings in the metal and the unique architecture that distinguished the Aliens from the Covenant and Humans.

Not much of the installation had been uncovered with just the top being revealed through digging and excavating. The top of the installation was also flat with no towers but it did have small openings -that upon closer inspection- revealed to be the entrances to hard light ramps that led into the installation. The ramps were uncovered and exposed which may prove troublesome for any aerial Covenant vehicles that may pass over the installation.

In the middle of the top of the installation was a large circular hole that looked to be like a main entry way. But 098 believed it may had been built for something else.

_Entering at designated POE may prove fatal._

"Disengage from original POE and land at newly marked POE." 098 told Clad.

"Okay... but why?" She asked.

_Allow me to elaborate _"Original POE looks to be more than a POE. Insertion may be fatal." 098 clarified.

"Okay. reestablishing POE." Clad complied.

"This is stupid." 098 heard Woods grumble.

_I am in command _"Keep the COM clear of chatter." 098 ordered Woods.

Woods let out an annoyed moan but complied and didn't continue.

The Pelican began to lower itself near a small entry point.

"Looks like you guys are gonna have to hoof it a bit." Clad told the team.

_Acknowledged _"Acknowledged." 098 replied.

When 098 was with his SPARTAN comrades, he wouldn't need to say "Acknowledged, affirmative, negative" or anything similar to that because all SPARTANs had 3 lights to use as signals so they could keep radio silence. ODSTs and Marines also had the 3 lights on their HUDs but since there were unarmored and untrained scientists on the team, they would have to communicate verbally.

098 didn't like the idea of civilians coming with them on an important mission. But apparently, only high-ranking ONI officials could access the data.

"Okay, just in and out. No _sight-seeing_?" Royce asked.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 confirmed.

"10 secs." Wong announced.

_10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1... _"Disembark." Wong told the team.

098 quickly jumped out of the blood tray; landing with a thump before quickly scanning the area.

_Clear _098 signaled for the team to follow and heard the thumps of the four ODSTs before the soft thumps of the 2 scientists.

"Keep low. I will take point. Vintage 2, you will take the rear. The rest will scan for hostiles." 098 ordered before slowly making his way to the small entrance.

"I'm gonna take the bird to cover," Clad told the team over the COM "Give us a call when you're ready for EVAC."

_Acknowledged _"Acknowledged." 098 replied.

"Keep an eye on that Corvette." Royce told Clad.

"Yeah, yeah." Clad muttered in an annoyed tone.

_Unneeded chatter _"Clear channel." 098 told Royce.

Royce muttered something 098 could not understand over the COM. 098 was going to tell him again but decided not to after Royce didn't say anything further.

"What's that glowing?" Preynar asked.

098 remembered that the scientists wouldn't have seen the entrance ramps from the blood tray.

"The ramps are hard light, I think." 098 heard Wong explain over the COM before 098 could explained himself.

"Hard light? I'm starting to think the Covenant adopted their technology _off_ of these guys." Moore mused.

"That explains a lot." Preynar grumbled in an annoyed tone.

"Halt." 098 told the team as they arrived at the small ramp entrance..

"What is it?" Moore asked.

_Allow me to elaborate _"Can hard light be deactivated?" 098 asked.

"We don't know a lot about it. But I would say yes," Preynar confirmed "I get where you're heading with this."

"Why couldn't these damn Aliens just build normal ramps?" Candraz asked out-loud in an irritated voice.

"We should be fine -unless a bunch of Covies are near a terminal that could deactivate it." Moore explained.

_Acknowledged._

"I will go first." 098 told the team.

"Sir," Walker quickly broke in "We need you alive. Let me go first."

_Affirmative _098 turned and nodded for Walker to proceed.

"You've got balls." Candraz jokingly observed as Walker descended down the hard light ramp with 098 watching as he slowly moved down the hard light ramp with his M7S raised in front of him.

"Gunnery Sergeant, Can you see a surface under the hard light?" Preynar asked.

"Negative, sir." Walker replied.

"So if the hard light disappears, we will fall to our deaths?" Preynar asked Walker.

"Ye, sir." He confirmed

"Shit." Royce and Woods muttered at the same time.

"Well are there any contacts?" Preynar asked Walker.

"Not that I see, sir." Walker replied.

"Hurry your ass up, Sergeant," Royce broke in "I don't like being in the open."

_Unneeded chatter _"Clear the channel." 098 told Royce.

Royce let out a sigh but ceased to speak.

"Sir," Walker reported in over the radio "I'm at the bottom of the ramp and inside the installation. No Covenant forces spotted. But I think I found what looks like the terminal for the ramp."

"Have you got access to the ramp terminal?" 098 asked Walker.

"Yes, sir." Walker confirmed.

"I will move down the hard light ramp. Do not proceed to follow me." 098 told the team.

"But we already confirmed that the Covies don't have access to the ramp's controls." Moore protested; confused at 098's last order.

_Allow me to elaborate _"Possible trap." 098 clarified his order.

"I see." Moore realized.

"Do not proceed to follow me." 098 told the team once more before making his way down the ramp.

098 slung his DMR over his back, and quickly pulled out his M7S once he heard the sound of the DMR connecting to the magnet on his back.

098 then moved slow enough down the ramp that the Covenant would have time to initiate their trap -if there was one- but fast enough so that he might make it if the hard light ramp was deactivated.

As 098 made his way down the ramp, he looked around and saw that once the ramp entered the installation there was no way anyone could monitor the ramp's hallway.

_Possibility of trap lowering _"Rally on my position," 098 told the team over the COM as he arrived at the bottom of the ramp "But for precaution, move as fast as possible."

"Affirmative." 098 heard Preynar and Royce reply in unison.

098 quickly holstered his M7S on his thigh and grabbed his DMR off of his back to survey the area.

098 had never seen anything like he was seeing now. There were no corridors for the entire installation was open. Since it was open, 098 could see the data terminal. Near the terminal was an energy turbine which was directly below what was originally believed to be the main entrance. Around the energy turbine there were large anti-gravity wells that had pillars levitating above them. There was also multiple levels of balconies in the installation which would prove as good sniper points for both the team and Covenant soldiers. The walls of the installation were odd as well with the walls moving. You could see through the gaps the walls made while moving and behind it were more moving walls.

The inner architecture of the installation was the same as the outer. With patterned engravings in the metal that made the installation look more advanced than even the Covenant.

098 heard Moore, Preynar, Woods, Candraz, and Royce arriving at the bottom of the ramp.

"Here, sir." Moore placed a hand on 098's shoulder to support himself himself while he quickly regained his breath.

098 heard Royce whistle in astonishment "These guys know there shit."

"What are these Aliens called?" Candraz asked.

"There is no official name, yet. But through surveillance of these types of places, we have captured and translated Covenant chatter. And they call these Aliens '_the Forerunners_'." Moore explained.

"_Forerunners?_" Woods mused.

"Yeah." Moore replied.

"That may have some meaning." Candraz observed.

"Exactly!" Woods said in a tone that said "Now you've got it".

"Fall in." 098 told the team as he began making his way to another ramp that led to the lower levels.

Royce let out an annoyed grunt which annoyed 098 who was getting annoyed of Royce's constant complaining.

"Captain-" 098 began but heard something. 098 signaled for the team to halt _Jackals low screeching._

098 signaled for the team to take cover behind some railings surrounding the small lower evaluated area the terminal for the ramp was on. _  
_

"What is it?" Moore asked 098 as he they quickly moved.

"Keep radio silence." 098 told Moore.

098 quickly took cover and slung his DMR over his back before grabbing his M7S.

Walker took cover on the right side of 098, Royce took cover behind Walker, Woods took cover to the left of 098, and Candraz took cover behind Royce. They all had their M7S in hand. Moore took cover behind Woods, and Preynar took cover behind Royce. Both Moore and Preynar had a M6C/SOCOM in their hands.

The cover they were in didn't provide a good amount of maneuverability. But 098 knew that if they ambushed the Covenant correctly, they wouldn't need to worry about it. The cover did however hide the team so the Covenant would have to walk behind the railings to see them.

Walker did the hand signal that stand for Covenant.

_Affirmative _098 nodded to confirm his silent question.

_Intel collection is mandatory _098 then pointed to his helmet to tell the ODSTs to turn on their translators.

Walker nodded and passed the signal on to Candraz and Royce while 098 then turned and did the same for Woods.

It was hard to try to commune without using the COM. The reason they couldn't use the COM was because the Covenant could pick up the COM being used. So when the COM wasn't an option, hand signals would have to come in.

There was distant screeching of Jackals and chattering of Grunts. The Covenant were getting closer _Negative visual _98 pulled a tiny camera linked to his and the ODST's HUD from his pouch, activated it, and placed just up on the top of the railing. 098 then tapped his helmet to check if Walker was getting the feed.

Walker nodded before turning to check if the Candraz and Royce's feed was working while 098 turned to check with Woods. Woods nodded as soon as 098 turned around.

The feed was located on the bottom left corner of 098's HUD. But 098 could increase its size at will.

What he saw did not faze him _12 Grunts. Class: Spec Ops -various ranks. 5 Jackals. Class: Spec Ops -various ranks. 2 Elites. Class: Spec - Ops._

Due to the fact that the ODSTs may shoot at the same targets; 098 marked targets for each ODST through the camera.

To make sure they have their targets marked on their HUD, 098 tapped his helmet.

Walker nodded and turned to check with Candraz and Royce while 098 turned around and saw Woods immediately nod.

All was ready, and 098 turned back around to face Walker and Walker nodded to say that he was ready to attack when 098 was.

On the camera, the Covenant soldiers were directly on the other side of the railing -just a few feet away.

"Who is the new brother that was on the Phantom?" A Grunt asked.

"Babaloh? He is a replacement for Dabap." Another Grunt explained.

"I noticed Dabap was missing. What happened to him?" The first Grunt asked.

"Oh, they say he somehow got poisoned from food nipple." The second Grunt explained.

098 heard what sounded like someone trying not to laugh over the COM.

"What was that?" An Elite asked in a startled -but aggressive- tone _Possibility of exposure rising._

"What is it, brother?" Another Elite asked.

098 took out an EMP grenade than held up 2 fingers that told that he needed two more.

Walker nodded and took one out and signaled for Royce to do the same.

"Somethings... _not right..._" The first Elite observed as the Royce got out his EMP grenade.

"Engage." 098 told the team over the Radio.

They all rose out of cover. 098, Royce, and Walker threw their EMP grenades at the group.

The Covenant soldiers didn't even get time to react before the grenades went off and bought down the Elite's energy shields and the Jackal's PDGs.

098 began firing his M7S as soon as the EMP grenade left his hand with the ODSTs and scientists engaging as well.

098 targeted the Elites since he knew he would take them down with two shots. Once the rounds hit the Elite: its heads split open with blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.

Two shots, and two of the deadliest warriors in the Galaxy where dead.

098 then turned his attention to the Grunts and Jackals.

Along with the ODSTs and scientists fire support, the Covenant scouting team was downed before they could even react to what was happening.

All that sounded was the soft bangs of the EMP grenades going off along with the grunts and gurgles of a few Jackals and Grunts as they were whittled with bullets.

"Confirm elimination." 098 told the team as he moved out of cover -grabbing the tiny camera as he moved.

"Can we talk now?" Woods asked.

098 didn't reply. He knew that they were joking since the ODSTs were trained to know immediately when to maintain radio silence, and when they could lift it.

098 reloaded his M7S and switched it to semi-automatic before he began shooting into the heads of the downed Covenant soldier's bodies.

"You didn't answer my question." Woods muttered as he began emptying his clip into the heads of some Grunts.

_Unneeded chatter _"Clear channel." 098 told Woods.

"Sir," Walker broke in "Covenant soldiers coming down the ramp."

098 quickly turned around and ran towards the terminal "Do you have positive visual on the targets?" 098 asked Walker as he ran at full speed.

"Negative, sir," Walker replied "But I think it's the same as the team we just encountered."

098 arrived at the terminal, and looked it over. When he was certain which button controlled the hard light shield, he pressed it.

The sounds of Grunts, Jackals, and Elites screeching, roaring and shrieking confirmed that 098 had pressed the right button.

"Nice work, sir." Walker tapped his shoulder.

098 nodded before heading back over to the bodies _Effective soldier. Will get far in this war._

"Are targets eliminated?" 098 asked.

"Yes, sir." Moore replied.

Moore seemed shaken _Possible first combat experience._

"Vintage 4, status?" 098 asked Moore.

"Green, Sierra."

_Negative _"Status?" 098 sternly asked again.

Moore let out a sigh "Just a little _shaken,_ Sierra. I'll last, so don't worry."

098 was satisfied with that answer.

"I'll take point. Vintage 2, you take up the rear." 098 told the team.

The team was only on the second level to the level with the terminal -there were levels below the main level- so going down the next ramp will get them where they needed to go.

"Why didn't Wong or Clad alert us about those Covies coming down the ramp?" Candraz asked in a pissed off tone.

"Using the COM at long-range is risky." Preynar explained.

"I knew that." Candraz quickly reassured.

_Negative._

"Whatever." Woods muttered.

_Unneeded chatter _"Clear the channel." 098 told the team.

Woods let out an annoyed grunt.

Preynar must have been getting annoyed by the ODSTs as well "If I hear one more grunt, I swear, I'll have you court-marshaled." Preynar threatened.

There was a distant Jackal screech and 098 held his hand up for the team to halt.

098 turned and did the signal that stand for Covenant to tell the team that Covenant were nearby.

The ODSTs and scientists wouldn't be able to hear the Jackal's screeches unlike 098 who had advance hearing because of his augmentations. He also a long-range sound detector built into his helmet which helped.

098 then signaled that he would go and scout the area.

"_Are you crazy?!_" Woods exclaimed.

098 heard what sounded like the Elite translation voice coming from down the nearby ramp.

098 slowly approached Woods _Vintage 5 casting negative effect in mission _"Keep radio silent." 098 sternly told Woods.

The Covenant chatter was getting frequent which meant that the Covenant were picking up the COM chatter and knowing that he needed to act quickly, 098 quickly turned around and rushed towards the ramp.

"Sierra?" Royce asked over the COM "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Maintain radio silence and stay in your current position -I will eliminated the targets." 098 quickly broke in.

098 quickly rushed down the hard light ramp, getting out a stun and EMP grenade while he ran and the distant sounds of panicked Grunt barks rang out as 098 closed in.

_Panicked sounds consist of 12 Grunts with 4 Jackals and an Elite trying to calm them down. Likely same type of team as the previous two._

098 reached the bottom of the ramp and saw that he was right.

12 Grunts, 5 Jackals, and 2 Elites -one of which was a Zealot- looked to see what was causing the loud thumping sounds and they almost jumped when they saw that it was a 'Demon'

098 tossed both of the grenades into the crowd of Covenant soldiers and drew his M6D Magnum and waited for the grenades to explode.

_Analyzing possible attack paths... done._

The grenades exploded just as 098 finished working out what he needed to do. And the Elite's shields deactivated along with the Jackal's PDGs

The Elites both drew their energy swords -that were not disabled due to them running on a sort of battery- and charged as the Grunts screamed in terror.

098 raised his pistol and as he suspected: the Elites immediately dodged to the side. As they did, 098 quickly readjusted his aim to be aiming directly at where the Zealot dodged -and fired.

The bullet pierced the Zealot's throat and it fell to the ground with purple blood oozing out of its mouth and in-between its mandibles while blood squirted and oozed out of its wound.

The second Elite let out a roar of anger as he heard his comrade get hit. But he didn't stop charging.

098 quickly holstered his pistol and dodged to the right as the Elite got within physical contact with him. The Elite swung his sword in the direction that 098 dodged -which 098 dodged as-well- before it quickly leaped back.

The Elite quickly peered its left eye towards the group of Covenant soldiers and let roar. The Jackals and Grunts then regained their courage due to the Elite's threat, and began to run forward into the fray.

098 grabbed his pistol with his left hand and managed to shoot a Jackal and Grunt before he had to dodge to the right -out-of-the-way of the Elite.

The Elite let out a roar of frustration as he charged again. But this time 098 jumped right over the Elite and landed a few feet behind him where he had enough time to turn around, raise his pistol, and shoot.

The bullet went straight through the back of the Elite's head with brain and blood splattering everywhere.

098 turned to face the rest of the soldiers to see 5 of the 11 remaining Grunts turn tail and run.

098 quickly got out another stun grenade and threw it just in-front of the crowd of approaching Aliens. Once the grenade landed, the Aliens tried to turn and run but it was too late. The grenade exploded and stunned the Covenant soldiers.

098 holstered his pistol and quickly grabbed his DMR before shooting the five fleeing Grunts then turning his attention of the stunned Grunts and Jackals.

10 well placed head-shots eliminated all of the scouting party _Targets eliminated._

"Proceed to my position." 098 told the team as he began to put rounds in each of the dead Covenant's heads.

"What _the hell happened?_" Royce asked over the COM.

_Allow me to elaborate_ "Firefight." 098 elaborated.

"No, why did you engage them without back-up?" Royce asked the SPARTAN.

_Allow me to elaborate _"To prevent the scientists from facing elimination." 098 elaborated.

"What about you?" Woods joined in over the COM.

"I was listening to Covenant chatter, and I would have disengaged if I heard more than 12 Grunts, 5 Jackals, and 2 Elites." 098 reassured as he put a round into the last Covenant's head before reloading his DMR.

"And you thought you could just _handle_ 12 Grunts, 5 Jackals, and 2 Elites?" Royce asked in his usual pissed off tone.

098 began to hear the footsteps of the scientists and ODSTs.

"One hundred percent positive." 098 reassured as he began to survey the distant balconies for possible snipers.

"Just drop it." Preynar told the ODSTs as they came up behind 098.

"Nice job." Walker observed.

_Compliment acknowledged._

"There's the terminal!" Moore pointed out.

"We are out in the open, proceed to its position slowly." 098 told the team.

"I think whatever Covenant forces are left here would've already tried to attack _thanks to you._" Woods pointed at 098.

"_Him?_" Preynar asked "You're the one who scream '_are you crazy_' over the COM -alerting every damn Covenant soldier in the installation of our presence."

"Well Moore didn't help either." Candraz joined in.

"I'm sorry about that, sir." Moore apologized.

"He's spent his entire career in a lab. You are meant to be professional soldiers!" Preynar snapped.

Moore quickly rushed ahead to the terminal -likely wanting to get the data so they could leave.

"Hold up!" Preynar yelled after Moore as he went after him.

"Fucking Spooks!" Royce yelled.

_Aggression levels rising _"Cease your aggression." 098 told the ODSTs.

"Fuck you, fucking _psycho!_" Royce snapped back.

"Cease your aggression or I will be forced to physically retain you." 098 warned Royce.

"Sir, please just listen to him." Walker place a hand on Royce's shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah okay." Royce said; breathing hard.

_Mental stress _"Vintage 2, Status?" 098 asked.

"I'm fine." He shot back.

_Negative _"Negative." 098 noticed.

"_Just leave me alone._" Royce aggressively snapped at 098.

"Your mental status is vital for the mission." 098 explained.

"FINE!" Royce screamed "I'm not green! I just want to get the fuck out of here so... _HURRY THE FUCK UP!_"

_Positive mental stress._

"Hang on! I'm getting the damn data!" Moore told Royce.

"Captain?" Walker asked in a worried tone.

"I just want... to get out of here." Royce reassured Walker; calming down.

They all jumped when a loud electrical sound went through the installation with 098 quickly grabbed his DMR and surveyed the area.

"There." Woods said.

098 turned to see a large energy ball in the energy turbine under the large circular hole that led to the outside.

"What's _that?_" Moore asked while approaching the energy ball.

098 and the ODSTs rushed over to join the scientists.

"Have you got the data?" Royce asked.

"Yeah..." Moore replied; seemingly distracted by the energy ball.

"Then let's get the _fuck_ out of here!" Royce said as he turned to head towards the ramp but stopped when he noticed the scientists weren't moving.

"Hang on, just going to record this." Preynar told the team as he pulled out a data pad.

"You think those scouts were the _only_ Covies here?" Woods asked "we need to leave, _now_!"

"Affirmative. We need to disengage to EVAC." 098 agreed.

"We only need a moment." Moore told them as he too pulled out a data pad.

"Fucking hell." Royce muttered as he approached the scientists. 098 got ready to engage Royce if he attacked the scientists.

"_Listen!_ dip-shit!" Royce snapped at the scientists as he grabbed Moore's coat collar "We have a mission. We have a _PROTOCOL!_ We're leaving, now. You told us to obey the SPARTAN, that means _you_ too. Now fall in or... I will take the damn data so we _can fucking leave_."

Moore pushed Royce away.

"Fine." Preynar said as he put his data pad away.

"But, sir-" Preynar interrupted before Moore could complain "The Captain is right, we need to leave."

Moore let out a sigh and put his data pad away.

"I will take point. Vintage 2, you will take the rear." 098 told the team.

"Sir, I apologize for just then." Preynar apologized to 098.

_Irrelevant _"Irrelevant. Let's move."

There was a loud scream. 098 quickly turned to the direction the scream came from to see Candraz floating in the air with two small stab wounds in her chest.

_Elite: Optical camouflage activated _"Contact, engage!" 098 yelled as he pulled out his M6D.

"_OH FUCK, NO!_" Royce exclaimed in shock as he turned to see Candraz.

The Elite de-cloaked its optical camo to reveal himself as a Zealot.

The Zealot let out a roar towards the group as he pulled Candraz off of his energy blade off of his blade with his free hand and threw her towards the group as an attempt to intimidate them.

"_YOU DARE_ DESECRATE THIS HOLY PLACE, _DEMON?!_" The Zealot parted its mandibles and roared before charging.

098 opened fire. but with the Zealot's strong shields, the bullets bounced off with minimal damage. The ODSTs opened fire as well but the rounds from the M7S proved to be ineffective against the Zealot's shields.

098 jumped to his left as the Zealot got close to him.

Knowing that his M6D would not kill it, 098 holstered the pistol and charged at the Elite.

"Engaging in physical combat." 098 announced over the COM.

The Zealot lunged at 098 as he got close but 098 grabbed its energy sword by the handle with his hands and ripped it out of the Zealots hand before grabbing the Elite himself.

"YOU DARE LAY YOUR DISEASED HANDS ON _ME?!_" The Zealot roared as SPARTAN tackled him.

Even with 098 weighing 1/2 tons, he couldn't tackle the Zealot off of its feet.

"UNHAND ME, _DEMON!_" The Zealot roared.

098 did all he could to lift the Zealot off of its feet but the Elite was to strong and eventually it grabbed 098 by his shoulders and started to try and push 098 off of him.

Since 098 was in the way, the ODSTs couldn't shoot without hitting the SPARTAN. So Royce quickly ran up to the tackling duo in an attempt to get a better angle. The Zealot, however, saw this and kicked Royce as he passed them.

Royce went flying and 098 thought he might have flew over the edge but managed to land on the ground a few feet away from the edge. A few seconds after landing, Royce rolled over on his back and began holding his chest _Possible internal damage._

"Captain!" Woods exclaimed as he ran to Royce's aid.

098 began trying to turn around so the Zealot's back would be facing the ODSTs but the Zealot wouldn't move The SPARTAN realized that his super Human strength and power armor was not working against the large, strong Elite.

_Possibility of my elimination, rising._

098 put all his strength in preventing the Elite from pushing him off of it for if it did, 098 would be dead. But 098 knew that it wasn't working.

The SPARTAN released his grab of the Zealot and quickly jumped a few feet to the right. As soon as 098 was clear, the ODSTs and scientists opened fire.

The Zealot parted its mandibles and roared as it quickly grabbed his sword and jumped to cover.

"Where's his team?!" Walker asked while reloading his M7S.

_Irrelevant _"Irrelevant, eliminated current target." 098 told Walker as he grabbed his DMR and slowly approached the cover the Elite was in.

All of a sudden, the Elite leaped over the tall railing he was behind and charged at 098. 098 Had no time to react before the Zealot swung his sword and laid a large cut across 098's chest.

Pain went through 098 _Physical damage detected. Possibility of elimination, rising._

SPARTAN Red-098 knew what he had to do. He charged the Zealot again. The Zealot charged as well with his sword at the ready.

"_SIR!_" Walker exclaimed.

"Disengage, get to the EVAC zone." 098 broke in.

The Zealot swung its sword and the SPARTAN dodged it before gripping it by its handle in an attempt to rip it out of the Zealot's hand again.

The Zealot predicted this, though. And it kicked 098 back a few feet when he went to grab the blade.

"So predictable." The Zealot jeered as it charged the SPARTAN again.

This time, 098 dodged the swinging blade and he charged into the Elite at full speed. With the force of the impact, the Elite managed to lose its footing for a couple of seconds and that gave 098 time to tackle the Elite to the edge.

The Zealot seemed to know what was happening "You think death fears me, _Demon?_ If I die, it doesn't matter. I walk the path, and salvation will come to me, even in death. And you will die because of me, the Prophets will sing of my deed as the Great Journey _begins!_"

The Zealot relaxed and let the SPARTAN tackle him over the edge. By the time 098 realized the Elite relaxed, it was too late. 098 attempted to break off of the grab but the Elite grabbed 098 in return.

They both fell over the edge of the platform. But 098 knew that he succeeded when he saw the ODSTs and scientists running up one of the ramp that led out of the installation.

_Mission accomplished._

"What?" The Elite said in shock as they began to go up instead of down.

098 quickly looked up to see that they were being pulled towards the energy ball.

It hit 098 then, he tackled the Elite off of the edge that was actually the border of the turbine. And they entered the energy ball's electromagnetic field which had some type of gravity pull _How did I miscalculate?_

It didn't matter. the energy ball would likely electrocute them to death.

But it didn't happen. As they got closer to the ball, 098 wondered why they didn't die from the energy coming from the ball when he realized that it was not an energy ball, it was a portal.

Out of nowhere, the gravity pull increased and they were sucked through instantly.

Everything went black as 098's HUD went offline then everything went blue, sky blue. 098 realized his HUD was back online and that he must have been looking at the sky.  
Mountain outlines began appearing in 098's visor _I am falling.  
_

098 quickly looked around to see the portal surround by a floating archway with the same architecture as the installation. He turned his head to the left to see distant mountains, trees, the Zealot flying as well, and a large line in the sky _That's not a line _098 quickly realized that he somehow not on a planet... but on a ring.

The Elite let out a victorious roar than abruptly stopped with a thump. 098 was going to turn to see what happened when 098's body must have hit the ground.

The impact of hitting the ground shook 098's body but the impact was absorbed thanks to his armor's Hydrostatic Gel.

098 quickly jumped up and drew his DMR to shoot the Zealot -which he assumed was charging at him. The Elite was instead lying on the ground -not moving. 098 looked up to see that the portal was a lot higher than 098 thought.

To be sure, 098 shot one round into the Elite's head before surveying the area.

Where-ever the SPARTAN was, it was not a planet. It was definitely related to the so-called "Forerunners" since there was floating towers with the same architecture as the installation.  
There was Alien birds flying in the air, distant valleys full of Alien trees and lakes, herd of Alien animals roaming across a distant plain, floating towers on mountains that were shooting a pulse of energy into the sky every ten seconds, and Alien installations and facilities were everywhere as far as 098 could see. But the most unusual thing was how he could look up in the sky and see distant continents and oceans

098 knew that wherever he was, it was not UNSC space.

098 proceeded to look up to see if he could reach the portal.

The portal was very high up and the turbine which powered it looked to be floating up by a nearby large anti-gravity well. Surrounding the portal were arches which 098 was lucky he didn't hit on the way out of the portal.

It was obvious that the way that 098 and the Zealot came through the portal that there must have been a way to safely travel through the portal. It didn't matter now for there was no way 098 could reach the portal.

098 swung his DMR over his back and began walking in the direction that the nearest tower was in -hoping to find a way to reach the portal.

_The situation is red, but I am not dead yet..._

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to those who decided to stick around and see what happens.**

**This chapter was a lot bigger than I originally wanted it to be; so there may be some typos that I would like anyone to point out to me in a review. **

**I apologize if my descriptions of the environment 098's in, is limited. I am not that good at trying to describe what the character is seeing and I apologize if people find this annoying. I'm hoping to improve.**

**Thank you to this stories followers: Nightwing141, lyndakey1.  
**


	3. Chapter Two: Gods And Demons

**[ CHAPTER TWO: GODS AND DEMONS ]**

* * *

_"Twinkle, twinkle, little star,_  
_How I wonder what you are!_  
_Up above the world so high,_  
_Like a diamond in the sky._  
_Twinkle, twinkle, little star,_  
_How I wonder what you are!_

_When the blazing sun is gone,_  
_When he nothing shines upon,_  
_Then you show your little light,_  
_Twinkle, twinkle, all the night._  
_Twinkle, twinkle, little star,_  
_How I wonder what you are!_

_Then the traveller in the dark,_  
_Thanks you for your tiny spark,_  
_He could not see which way to go,_  
_If you did not twinkle so._  
_Twinkle, twinkle, little star,_  
_How I wonder what you are_

_In the dark blue sky you keep,_  
_And often through my curtains peep,_  
_For you never shut your eye,_  
_Till the sun is in the sky._  
_Twinkle, twinkle, little star,_  
_How I wonder what you are!_

_As your bright and tiny spark,_  
_Lights the traveller in the dark,—_  
_Though I know not what you are,_  
_ Twinkle, twinkle, little star._  
_Twinkle, twinkle, little star,_  
_How I wonder what you are!"_

_"We are on a star, mommy!"_

_"That we are,_ _Red_."

* * *

**September 4, 2555 ****[2340 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Unknown _Sahara_-class heavy Prowler.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

"So that was when you first arrived at Installation 06?" West asked in his emotionless voice while taking a sip out of his coffee mug.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative, sir." 098 nodded.

"After that, how long was it until you encountered the Diverted and this Forerunner A.I?" West asked.

"2 Hours, sir."098 informed.

"Very well, we can continue with this interview or we can take a rest for the night." West told 098.

"Continue, sir." 098 chose.

"Okay then, start off when you first encountered the Sangheili." West told 098 as he took another sip out of his coffee mug.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 nodded.

_I am nothing but food for war, and... for 'them'_

* * *

**November 4, 2547 ****[1039 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**On Unknown World.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

It had been two hours since 098 and the Elite Zealot fell through the mysterious portal. And while the Zealot was dead, 098 was not. Of course, it would take a lot more than a fall to kill a SPARTAN. Then again, SPARTANs never died. But only if that were true.

The tower 098 decided to head for was a lot further away then he first thought. And it only took longer thanks to about 3 packs of hungry Alien predators that were the only hostile Aliens 098 had encountered that did not fear him. Even the massive Guta on Reach knew to stay away from the SPARTANs during training excises.

But as 098 got closer to the tower, it started to get bigger with 098 spotting Alien compounds and facilities surrounding the base of the anti-gravity well. That only made 098's job harder. But 098 knew it would pay off for there had to be some type of intelligence on the ring, for he came across two floating synthetics that appeared to examine him before moving on. 098 hoped that they were heading back to inform their findings to a more advanced synthetic that could assist him.

So-far travelling towards the tower had proved to be eventful; visually as well, with 098 coming across beautiful views of the terrain and the ring, Alien herds roaming around the hills he was travelling via and paying him no attention what-so-ever, and he even came across a large lake with dozens of different types of Alien animals gathering around to drink -even the predators approached the lake without getting an eye from the other animals.

It very much reminded 098 of Reach when he would observe the different animal species interact in a neutral zone. Then Linda would shoot her sniper and scare off the herd just to annoy 098. But Mendez was the real annoyed one since he couldn't pin-point how Linda kept breaking into the armory to steal a sniper.

"_Demon,_ do not attack me." 098 heard the all too familiar Elite translated voice come from behind him.

_Contact, engaging _Without a second wait, 098 turned around and shot at the Elite with his DMR _1 Elite. Class: Major._

The 7.62x51mm rounds literally bounced off of the Elite's shields as the Elite just casually stood there -which was odd. 098 Figured that he wouldn't be able to break the shields and quickly leaped behind a large rock where he reloaded.

"Listen, Demon. I know you can somehow understand me," The Elite said as 098 slung his DMR over his back and grabbed his M6D PDW."And I want to kill you; but-"

Before the Elite could continue, 098 jumped out of cover; hoping that the Magnum's 12.7x40mm M225 Semi-Armor-Piercing High-Explosive rounds would break the Elite's energy shields.

But all that hope was shattered when 098 saw 2 of the floating synthetics he encountered earlier hovering over the Elite while projecting a beam at the Elite which seemed to cause the Elite's strong shield.

098 shifted his aim and began shooting at the closest synthetic but the Magnum's bullets just bounced off of their shields as well.

_Ineffective. Need a new- _Before 098 could finish thinking of a new plan, he froze -not by choice.

098 couldn't move his head, arms, legs or anything. And he slowly tilted over until he fell at full speed to the grassy ground. 098's body didn't go limp once he hit the ground which meant that his armor was possibly in lock-down.

"Is it secure?"The Elite asked with a click of its mandibles as it approached 098.

The floating synthetic beeped once which must have been the reply.

"Good. Now, Demon..." 098 could hear the Elite kneel next to him and feel all of his killer instincts explode as they attempted to get 098 to kill the Elite _This doesn't feel right... _"I know you hate me -_Gods__,_ I hate you more since you and your kind killed thousands of my brothers." The Elite began "But you were only instrument of their destruction. Do you blame a sword for ending a life? _of the wielder?_ I know who the wielders are. And I will see them dead before me before I face the eternal darkness forever. But, I hate to be the one to say that we _need your help_. And fear not; for if I wanted to kill you, I could do it right now -even though these Sentinels will protect you before me; but know that my death once meant nothing as long as I walked the _fake path_. Now, I have no desire to die; nor fight false enemies. Belay all your desires to kill me for if you do not, you will not leave this ring alive"

_I-I-I, w-will comply._

"Release it. But lock it up again if it tries _anything._" The Elite told the synthetics.

The synthetic let out a beep in reply and 098 began to feel his body again and as soon as 098 could move his legs and torso he jumped up on his feet and quickly jumped back in-case the Elite or the synthetics were about to engage him when he got up.

098 turned to see the Elite Major surrounded by four of the floating synthetics he called "Sentinels" and holstered his pistol when he saw that they were making no attempts to attack him.

_Do not engage... do not engage... do not engage... _It took all of 098's willpower not to charge at the Elite and break its neck.

"Nod if you can understand me." The Elite told 098 with a few clicks of its mandibles

_Affirmative. _098 nodded in reply.

"Well That Explains A Lot!" The Elite parted its mandibles and roared in annoyance.

098 quickly drew his DMR in-case the Elite's roar was a sign that it was about the charge.

The Elite instead parted its mandibles and let out a laugh "Relax, Demon. Now come, I will take you to my leader who will _explain_ things to you."

* * *

**September 4, 2555 ****[0017 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Unknown ****_Sahara_-class heavy Prowler.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

"What happened after that?" West asked while writing down what 098 just said with a stylus onto his Data-pad.

_Allow me to elaborate _"We continued towards the tower until we arrived at its POE 1 hour later." 098 explained.

"The same tower you were already heading to?" West asked.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 nodded.

"Right, continue at your will." West told 098.

_What will?_

"With permission, I wish to skip the irrelevant hour and start at when we arrived at the tower." 098 said.

"Did anything _important _happen with the Elite while you were travelling?" West asked.

_Negative. _"Negative, sir. He didn't speak to me and we encountered no reason to cease proceeding to the tower." 098 explained.

"Very well. Your recordings will show if you lied. Go ahead." West waved at 098 as he put his Data-pad down, and took a sip of his coffee.

_SPARTANs never lie. Of course, machines can't lie._

* * *

**November 4, 2547 ****[1159 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**On Unknown World.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

There was the sound of at least 15 Grunts screaming in terror as 098 and the Elite Major entered a small Alien compound that bordered the entrance to the tower's anti-gravity well facility which was where the Major said its leader was located.

"_Shut up!_" The Elite Major snapped its mandibles at the small Aliens.

About 11 of the 15 Grunts went quiet while the rest hurried off inside the anti-gravity well facility while screaming their little heads off.

"Stupid things." The Elite mumbled as he turned to make sure 098 was still following him.

The compound was unique. The pathway to the entrance to the anti-gravity well facility was clear with small open Alien buildings surrounding the pathway, and a perimeter wall around the compound with towers located where the walls connected; and each tower housed an Elite.

The architecture of the compound, anti-gravity well facility and the floating tower that shadowed them was the same as the installation back on Quaint with rich engraved patterns along the metal architecture.

The compound was quiet empty of Covenant for a Covenant base -which was odd. There was at least 23 Grunts all huddled in a circle -trying to ignore 098. There was also a Jackal leaning against a nearby small Alien building who seemed to be watching the Grunts. There was also two more Jackals talking to each other but stopped when 098 entered the compound and proceeded to give him aggressive looks. Above that, there was a various amount of Elites patrolling the area while stopping to give 098 a dirty look or growl at him before continuing.

_Do not engage... do not engage... do not engage.. _098's instincts were crying at him to draw his DMR and start shooting; but his reason begged him not to. It was an uncomfortable situation and while 098 got used to the Elite Major, it was almost too much around this much Covenant soldiers.

An Elite Minor approached the 098 and he was ready to engage the Elite if it attempted anything. Instead, the Elite dropped to its knees "Reclaimer, my life is yours."

_Unknown topic._

"The Great Journey is false." The Major said as it placed a reassuring hand on the Minor's shoulder.

"The Forerunners were not. And though they may not be Gods, they gave us so much; and I will still worship them, and the Reclaimers." The Minor explained its actions.

A couple of Elites heard this and came over and fell to their knees as well.

"It is not a Human." The Major reminded the kneeling Elites.

"That is not what the Oracle said when it picked up its signal." One of the Elites stated.

"Do what you will," The Major gave up "but do not halt our meeting with the Ultra any further."

The Elites replied and got up to continue their patrols.

_Unknown recent event._

The Major let out a grunt and beckoned 098 on "Do not pay too much attention to them -they are in a bad state of mind at the moment."

_Acknowledged._

They entered the anti-gravity well facility via the main POE. There was just the one hallway which led straight ahead to a door that was guarded by two Elite Minors, and there were no turns that led to other hallways.

But before they could continue, the screams of the 4 Grunts that fled earlier filled the hallway. 098 quickly deactivated his translator so the screams weren't so high-pitched.

The Elite roared something 098 couldn't understand -since he turned his translator off- at the Grunts. The Grunts quickly hurried back out into the compound while screaming in terror. 098 quickly turned his translator back on when the Grunt's screaming became distant.

"I can not believe those damn things." The Elite growled to itself as they continued.

The hallway had the same architecture as every other 'Forerunner' facility or building 098 had come across. There was a difference; and that was because the more larger engravings had glowing blue tracings through them which must have provided light when it was dark. The roof of the hall was also different with two small laser projectors above each door in the hallway and they projected a photon beam that went across the entire roof.

"The Ultra is just in here." The Elite Major said as they approached the door. 098 quickly turned his attention away from the roof and back to the Elite.

"Interesting, is it not?" The Major asked; seemly noticing 098's attention change.

_Affirmative._

"Found a Demon?" One of the Elite Minors guarding the door asked.

"Yes. I almost jumped when I saw it." The Elite Major informed the Minors of what happened.

The doors opened to the sound of a hissing sound "Go through." The second Elite Minor guard told them as he gave 098 a dirty look. Knowing that there may be trouble, 098 moved his left hand closer to his M6D -so he would be able to quickly pull it out if they attacked him.

"Greetings," 098 suddenly heard a metallic voice say from inside the room they were entering "I am the Monarch."

098 didn't reply to the voice, and just continued to follow the Elite Major into the room to see an Elite Ultra sitting on what looked like a makeshift throne atop an evaluated platform that was connected to the main ground via a hard light ramp. To both of the Ultra's sides were two Elite Minors equipped with a Type-51 Carbine. to the left as they entered the room was some type of synthetic eye built into some type of generator with thick Alien -or Forerunner- cords coming out of the generator to connect it to other holographic terminals around the room. To the right of the room was a large glass window which covered the entire wall and had to be one-way since 098 didn't see the window as he and the Major approached from that direction.

"What are you saying to it?" 098 heard the Elite Ultra ask what 098 suspected was the voice.

The metallic voice replied in the Sangheili language but 098 translated it as "Introducing myself."

"Now," The voice said in English "please do not feel threatened by the Sangheili -for they mean you no harm, and if they did, I am sworn to protect you; so my Sentinels will cease their aggression if any started."

098 noticed the four Sentinels that had followed them were positioning themselves near 098

"But know this: I consider you the bigger threat." The voice concluded.

_Acknowledged. I will not engage _098 just nodded.

"I suppose you are wondering what I am?" The voice asked "You already know my title, but my function remains oblivious to you. I am the most advance Forerunner Ancilla -or A.I in your tongue- in the galaxy. And my primary function is to assist the Reclaimers to the best of my possibility. You are Reclaimer, so I will serve you to the best of my possibility. I will start with translating for you and the Ultra so you can speak to each other for he has a lot to explain."

_Negative _"Negative. I can understand him via translator device within my helmet." 098 informed the Monarch.

The Monarch relayed what 098 just said into the Sangheili language for the Ultra.

"That explains many things." The Ultra observed as it sat back down on its makeshift throne.

"Why have you not proceeded to engage and eliminate me?" 098 asked the Ultra with the Monarch translating what 098 said almost immediately after the words left his mouth.

"Because you are Reclaimer -the inheritor of all the Forerunners left behind. Not long ago, I walked the fake path knowing that I will find salvation -even in death. But no longer. The Forerunners are _not Gods!_ And the Great Journey has been fake. But there are those I call brother here that may still wish to bend their knee to the Forerunners -even if they are not Gods; and hence, they may swear their lives to you. But I will never bend my knee to anyone or _anything_ ever again." The Ultra explained.

"Unknown topic." 098 said but the Monarch didn't translate.

"What?" The Monarch asked.

_Allow me to elaborate in Human non-military verbal wording _"I do not understand." 098 said using more "Human" words. The Monarch understood and translated for 098.

"No, you do not," The Ultra calmly agreed "But before I continue, I need you to swear that you will not react violently to what I speak. If you do not, I will have to have the Sentinels stun you."

"I am a soldier 24/7. And to function like a soldier, you need to put emotions aside." 098 explained as the Monarch translated what he said.

"Then I shall begin this explanation," The Ultra stood up "The Covenant worship the Forerunners as Gods -so did I. And the Covenant are the chosen to Reclaim the Forerunners creations before ascending to paradise when the Prophets start the Great Journey by the activation of Halo. This is all a_ lie!_"

"The San 'Shyuum -along with the Covenant- are not the Reclaimers -for you Humans are. The Prophets somehow found this out; and in order to keep control over the Covenant, they lied and said that you were a plague and that your destruction was the will of the Forerunners. Had they not lied, the Covenant would be under Human control. _(Was the Human-Covenant War irrelevant?) _That would be until we found out the truth. Halo did not start the Great Journey. They were built by the Forerunners to wipe out every living thing in the galaxy in order to starve the Flood -a parasitic Alien that even the Forerunners could not defeat."

The Ultra began pacing back and forth "The Great Journey was a fake. All those who walked the path hoping for salvation -even in death- will have their beliefs crushed. Every Covenant soldier who has walked the fake path that died in the holy war will not see paradise, and will not come back from the eternal darkness. They died for nothing and will not see the Paradise they died for."

The Ultra sat back down, the Minors next to him had their heads down in shame and sadness "But how do I know all of this? After failing to kill your _'Master Chief'_ I had to face the holy council. _(He always has been lucky)_ The only reason I was not executed is because I managed to convince the council that the Demon would be dead if not for that bastard _Luro 'Taralumee_ -he lost his head instead. I, for one, was still punished with my place on the Great Journey being removed, and my Honor being lost to me. I would be able to regain both my place and my honor through the most holiest of duties -securing Forerunner artifacts and installations."

The Ultra stopped pacing and faced 098 "One such installation I was to secure 47 rotations ago on one of your _damn planets_ had the Monarch within its bowls. There, the Monarch told me and my soldiers the _truth_."

"The _truth_ was, of course, a shock to me and my men; and we knew that we had to warn the fleet. But they would not believe us without the Monarch; and to try to convince them to come to the Monarch would be suicide -since there is a Prophet on the ship I served on, and he would have found a way to prevent the truth from reaching the light. So, we had to bring the Monarch with us. And as you can see to your left, he is connected to some type of mainframe; meaning we cannot move him."

The Monarch broke in; speaking Sangheili "I did, however, tell them that there were special Sentinels that could remove me from the Parisadal and make me mobile. Unfortunately, these Sentinels were not located in the installation I was stationed in. But I knew that they would be located on the Halo arrays. To add a bonus, one of the Halos -Installation 02- had a Forerunner Dreadnought located on it. And thankfully, my main function was to assist the Reclaimers in the location of the Halo Arrays; and for that, I was connected to a teleportation network that allowed me to portal myself -and everything in the room I was located in- to a specialized room built on each Halo for when I teleport there."

"The plan was to teleport to Installation 02, get assistance from the Installation's Monitor, commandeer the Dreadnought, and use it to get back into Covenant space where I would assist these Sangheili in ending this unneeded war.

"The Ultra could have explained that." The Elite Major muttered.

"Rek," The Ultra said in a tone that said 'Stop it' "We did not go to 'Installation two' _though_."

"No," The Monarch replied in Sangheili "Due to some type of interference that I cannot identify, I had to make an emergency change in the teleportation network. In order for us not to just teleport into nothing, I had to quickly set it so that we teleport to the closest installation. And since I did that, we teleported to this installation -that I have not been able to identify since we have not been able to contact the Monitor."

"Due to the limited amount of Sentinels I was given, my scouting of the installation has so far proved to be ineffective. I have only revealed half of this continent in the 47 days that we have been here. And my Sentinels cannot access the service tunnels to explore this Installation faster. Needless to say, the Monitor should have made contact with us -or at least me- by now."

"You're good at keeping your emotions to yourself," The Ultra observed "I would of thought it would not be so."

_Negative _098 was pissed about what he had just heard. But 098 buried his emotions a long time ago, and he would never ever let them be dug up.

"Negative," 098 finally said with the Monarch translating for him "but the rest of Humanity will be opposite."

"I know they will be. But they to have inflicted atrocities on us." The Ultra stated with a click of its mandibles that were concealed by its helmet.

"We were on the defense." 098 reminded the Ultra

"And you were right to be on the defense. But it does not make it any less painful, Demon," The Ultra stated "But we have inflicted worse atrocities on you -needless atrocities. And the San 'Shyuum will burn for this. Each and every one of the bastards."

"Brother, not all of the San 'Shyuum might of known about this." One of the Minors next to the Ultra suggested with a click of its mandibles.

"Remember the Dvene-Tais people, brother?" The Ultra asked the Minor "They were divided into different political cities. And it was only one of those cities that desecrated that Forerunner artifact while the others wanted to stay away from anything related to the Forerunners. Yet, the San 'Shyuum ordered the glassing of the _entire planet_. Those who were willing to join the Covenant and worship the Forerunners died for the sins of a few."

"The Prophets lies have done much damage to the galaxy," The Elite Major known as "Rek" joined in "it is our duty to redeem ourselves through being the arm of vengeance."

"Yes," The Ultra agreed "Demon, the Prophets will burn for blinding us. But we need your assistance."

_Affirmative _"I will assist you until my superiors order me not to." 098 told the Ultra with the Monarch translating what he said.

"So be it," The Ultra nodded "Monarch, you may begin with your idea."

098 turned to face the Monarch.

"I may be in the blind," The Monarch began "But I do have a short-range sensor -which is currently working. And it was with the sensor that I picked up a portal -which I assume you came through to get here."

_Affirmative. _"Affirmative." 098 confirmed with a nod.

"Good. What planet is on the other side?" The Monarch asked.

"Quaint." 098 replied.

"Unknown planet," The Monarch said "But I will soon know since one of my Sentinels is approaching it now."

"We will use the portal to get back to Covenant space." The Ultra elaborated further to 098.

_Acknowledged._

"That may be a problem." The Monarch said.

"Why?" The Ultra asked The Monarch with a worried click of its mandibles.

"Because there is a Covenant scouting team coming out of the portal." The Monarch clarified.

"Demon, did you encountered scouting teams on the other side?" The Ultra asked 098"

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 confirmed

"It could just be one of those." The Ultra suggested.

"No, my Sentinel just went through the portal and there is a lot of Covenant soldiers around on the other side." The Monarch broke in.

"Damn it!" 098 heard the Ultra snap its mandibles in annoyance and anger under its helmet.

"Oh," The Monarch said in surprise "the Covenant are now kneeling before the Sentinel and calling it Oracle."

"I pity their blindness." Rek clicked its mandibles in a sympathetic way.

"Soon they will see the light, brother," The Ultra reassured "And when they do, their wraith will be infinite."

"There's a San 'Shyuum with them." The Monarch informed the Elites.

The Elite Minors let out roars of anger while the Ultra quickly approached the Monarch "Is he near a Sangheili in golden armor?"

"Yes." The Monarch confirmed.

"Fleet-Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee," The Ultra muttered "It is the Prophet Of Pity."

The Elite Minors -along with Rek- let out roars of anger at the mention of the Prophet's name.

"The San 'Shyuum is starting some type of prayer." The Monarch informed.

"What is he saying?" The Ultra asked the Monarch.

"Holy Sentinel, warrior of the Gods -the holy Forerunners," The Monarch began "We thank you for gracing us with your holy presence -one that little of us are worthy of. We also thank the holy Forerunners -our divine Gods- for this gateway to the holy ring. Soon, the Great Journey will begin. And when it does, all those who walk the blessed path will find salvation -even in death-"

"Stop!" The Ultra told the Monarch as he turned to face 098 "Their words are blinding. All reason leaves you when you listen to their lies!"

_Irrelevant _"Irrelevant," 098 replied while the Monarch began translating what he said into Sangheili "the Covenant have taken control of the installation on the other side of the portal. Leaving this ring will be difficult."

"Yes," The Ultra agreed with a nod "but maybe we won't have to return to _High Charity_ in order to begin the burning of the San 'Shyuum. If I could secretly meet with the Fleet-Master without Pity knowing, he will listen, and come to meet the Monarch; and when he hears the truth, Pity will beg for mercy as the Fleet-Master's blade glows near his thin neck!"

The Elites let out roars of approval.

"Demon, will you be fine here while I leave to speak with the Fleet-Master?" The Ultra asked 098 with a curious click of its hidden mandibles.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 confirmed as the Monarch translated for him.

"My Sentinels will be close by if trouble breaks out." The Monarch reassured.

"Thank you again, Monarch," The Ultra nodded at the Monarch before getting up and making its way down the ramp. "Major, you will be in charge while I am absent. No brother is to go near the Demon; and it is to remain in the compound so it can quickly escape when Fleet-Master comes with me back here."

"Yes, brother." Rek replied with a salute.

"Demon, if you wish to leave Halo alive I recommend you listen to the Monarch and do not do anything foolish." The Ultra advised.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 replied as the Monarch translated what he said.

"Good." The Ultra nodded at 098 as it passed him.

Following his instincts: 098 quickly turned around to see where the Ultra was going; to see it go up to a nearby holographic table which had an assortment of Covenant weapons on it.

The Ultra picked up a Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle and holstered it on its right thigh before picking up a Type-51 Carbine and slung it over its back before turning back around to face 098 and the Elites "Brothers, vengeance is nigh." It then turned back around as the door to the room opened and made its way out with a Sentinels, Elite Minors, Rek, and 098 following it.

098 tried his best to process what he had just heard; and a lot of it would make Humans hate Elites even more. But it didn't matter at the moment, for 098 was about to leave the ring; and he hoped he would soon be reunited with his SPARTAN comrades. But he did have one unusual thought, something Humanity would curse at him for having.

He was fearful of the war ending. he would likely just go up against the rebels again; but he hated the idea of fighting Humans after he had spent so many years killing Aliens.

Another thing disturbing him was the fact that not 4 hours ago he was killing Covenant like it was what he was born to do. Now, he had to restrain his instincts or he would lash out and kill every Covenant soldier near him that wish nothing but an end to the needless war and go back home.

But the most disturbing thing was what he witnessed with the Elites. He saw the sadness they had for their dead and their fake religion, the anger they had for these San 'Shyuum that had fooled them for so long, the compassion they had for each other, and the hatred they had for 098.

These were Human emotions and it made 098 very uncomfortable to see those many consider monsters to act with emotions that made them so Human.

_They are more Human than I am._

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to all those who read this.**

**As you could see at the beginning o this chapter, 098 is a bit "odd" This will be explained later in the story but I will give you a hint "I hold the Keys to all thing"**

**Anyway, please leave a review telling me what you think, and pointing out cannon errors of typos I might have done.**

**Thank you to this story's followers: Nightwing141, lydnakey1.**


	4. Chapter Three: Honor

**[ CHAPTER THREE: HONOR ]**

* * *

_When I joined the Covenant,  
I took and oath that was in __accordance to my station and were all without exception._

_On the blood of my father.  
On the blood of my sons and brothers.  
I swore to uphold the Covenant to my dying breath._

_I'm a __Heretic._

* * *

**September 5, 2555 ****[0815 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard ****Unknown _Sahara_-class heavy Prowler.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

"ONI interview: Incident 071824260, session 2, begin," West said as they took their seats opposite each other "Shall we begin where we left off?"

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 nodded.

"Okay, Tell me what happened when 'Lodamee was sneaking off to the Covenant base outside the portal." West told 098 as he took a sip out of his coffee mug.

_Irrelevant _"Irrelevant. Allow me to explain what happened with 'Lodamee." 098 asked West as he took a sip out of his water bottle.

"How do you know what happened when you were not even there?" West asked in a confused tone.

_I have seen everything _"Irrelevant at current time. Elaboration will come later." 098 replied.

West let out a sigh "Fine, go ahead."

_Affirmative _"It was approx 3 hours after..." _Those who believe, shall be saved!_

"You alright?" West asked while rubbing his chin.

_I am only all._

"Yes." Red reassured.

* * *

**November 4, 2547 ****[1456 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**The Base Of Forerunner Portal, Unknown Halo Array.**

**Thel 'Lodamee...**

* * *

"Are you sure you will be okay by yourself, brother?" Urse 'Vadamee clicked his mandibles; worried for Thel.

_Only if Pity does not find me _"I will be safer by myself, brother." Thel placed a reassuring hand on Urse's shoulder.

Urse 'Vadamee along with Anve 'Lodamee were Thel's most trusted out of his Minors that survived the assault on the Human installation. They would usually accompany him anywhere; but not this time. But due to their requests, they accompanied him close enough to the base that they would be able to provide covering fire if Thel needed to fight his way out.

Thel hoped that violence would not be required. That he could avoid the Prophet of Pity. And that he would be to make Vale Nar 'Sarasee listen to reason. At least Thel hoped that it was Vale and that the Prophet was the Prophet Of Pity. But it had to be due to the fact that there were only a couple more Prophets accompanying a fleet to advise a Fleet-Master. And that the others were advisers of Fleet-Master's with armor that was not gold -it had to be Vale.

Thel knew that Vale would listen to him since he served under his command on the CAS-class assault carrier: _Everlasting Retribution_. And Vale was a strong, wise leader who agreed that Thel was unfairly punished by the council for his failure in killing the Demon _'Master_ _Chief_'. Now, if Thel wanted to survive and go back home to Sanghelios, he needed to work with a comrade of the _same_ Demon that he almost killed years earlier.

"Take this," Thel said as he passed Anve his Type-51 Carbine "Ultras are not meant to carry such weapons."

"They will notice you anyway with your armor being so _unclean_." Urse reminded Thel with a few clicks of his mandibles.

_True, brother. But I need not worry _"Then they will take me to the Fleet-Master." Thel reassured his nervous brother.

"Or the bastard Prophet." Anve warned.

_That would not be likely, brother _"Why?" Thel asked "He is a Prophet. He has no time to ask questions of a simple Ultra."

"What if he suspects this?" Urse asked; getting increasingly agitated with his mandibles twitching uncontrollably "He would have heard of our disappearance back on that Human planet. He may know that we found out about their bloodied lies."

_It is a lesser possibility._

"No, brother," Anve broke in "the San 'Shyuum are obviously stupid if they thought they could hold a secret_ this big_ and not think there would be any consequences."

_Or maybe they are smarter than we thought _"Unless they had a plan to counter us if we ever found out." Thel mused.

"Perhaps the Prophets didn't really know about the Humans being the Reclaimers. And our hatred for them is unneeded." Urse suggested.

_Whether or not is true, the San 'Shyuum will be burned to oblivion _"And like I said back at the tower: the Prophets have ordered the destruction of civilizations for mistakes before. If this is just a mistake, they will burn for it." Thel reminded Urse

"Whatever the _real_ path ahead leads, I will always follow you." Anve placed a reassuring hand on Thel's shoulder.

"As will I, brother." Urse added._  
_

_ know you will. But we need not dwell on the future _"One step at a time along this new path, brothers." Thel reminded them as he got up from crouching "I will take the first step."

"Know that we will always be right behind you, brother." Anve reassured Thel.

_Your loyalty touches me _"And know that I will always cherish your loyalty," Thel nodded as he turned to make his way across the cliffs and come up behind the base "something that is Alien to the Prophets."

"Good luck, brother." Urse clicked his mandibles as Thel left the Minors.

The portal was rather quite large with Forerunner arches -that came away from a large round platform beneath the portal- surrounding it, and a floating energy turbine being supported by an anti-gravity well. Coming away from the turbine was what looked to be a platform with ramps leading away from it and to various nearby cliffs and hills. Thel guessed the ramps were the proper way to exit the portal; but by the looks of the Demon, he didn't take the _safe _way.

Luckily, there was a rather large amount of cliffs around the portal and the hill beneath the portal -that the Covenant base was positioned. This made it easier for Thel to approach the base without being seen.

Once Thel was in the base -now that was another matter.

By the looks of it, the only aircraft coming through the portal were Banshees, Phantoms, and Spirits. The Phantoms and Spirits were carrying troops, vehicles, supplies, and gravity towers and other various portable buildings for the base.

So far the base had no walls around it which made getting into it easier. But since there were no walls, there was a larger amount of gravity towers housing Kig-Yar snipers which posed a threat to Thel.

But as for Covenant troops themselves: Thel had spotted Unggoy patrols that were being led by a Sangheili along with two Kig-Yar supporting them.

And by the looks of some of the Sangheili Thel was seeing -that he recognized through his service with them- these Covenant soldiers were definitely members of the _Second Fleet of Divine Trinity_.

There were also various Jiralhanae patrolling the area which may cause Thel a problem if Urse was right.

But all in all, Thel believed that he would reach the Fleet-Master with no problems.

* * *

**September 5, 2555 ****[0826 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Unknown _Sahara_-class heavy Prowler.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

"You speak like _you __were__ Thel_," West observed while scratching his chin "How do you know all this?

_I am all _"Elaboration will come later, sir." 098 assured.

West let out a sigh "Guess it's like waiting for a good book; you just have to be patient."

_Affirmative _"I will explain why I have knowledge of this if you order me to do so." 098 reminded him.

"No, it's fine," West waved 098 down before taking a sip of his coffee "Just as long as it is not something I need to _urgently_ know."

_More than you will want to ever believe _"Negative, sir." 098 shook his head.

"Okay, please continue. But skip the irrelevant cliff climbing and get to the important part, please," West told him "That is if nothing happened while Thel was traversing the cliffs."

_Negative _"Negative." 098 confirmed.

"Good. You may continue." West nodded to 098 before taking another sip out of his coffee mug.

_You... will slowly come to understand what I saw... what I... felt..._

* * *

**November 4, 2547 ****[1532 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

******The Base Of Forerunner Portal, Unknown Halo Array.**

******Thel 'Lodamee...**

* * *

Getting up the cliffs had been easy.

So far Thel had not been seen by the Banshees patrolling the area, and the Kig-Yar were blind of his presence as well.

Thel was now in the base and trying his best to avoid patrols. As for where Thel was heading: he already spotted the Covenant portable head-quarters which looked to be larger than the others and also had a Sangheili Zealot leaning against the outside wall -as if he was observing anyone that came near the building.

Thel already recognized the Zealot as Var 'Lultamee.

Var was one of Thel's _least favorite_ Sangheili brother on board the _Everlasting Retribution_.He was aggressive towards pretty much every Covenant species other than the Sangheili themselves -showing extreme violence towards the Unggoy. He was also a giant of a Sangheili standing 9 feet tall. He knew he was large and used that fact to spread intimidation among the soldiers -even Thel knew not to bother him at the wrong time.

Thel always knew he would have a _"__problem"_ with the Zealot somewhere in the future. But he did not want the problem to be in such a vital time. Thel hoped that since he had been missing for nearly two segments, the Zealot would let him in to see the Fleet-Master. If not, Thel would have to get aggressive in order to get the Fleet-Master's attention.

Thel was going to make his move -and leave the shadows of the alley- when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

_The hand is that of a Jiralhanae! _Thel spun around to see two Jiralhanae Captain Ultras staring at him.

"Your armor is too _dirty_." the first one barked in its strong, loud voice.

_Damn it._

These Jiralhanaes were about the same rank as Thel, but he still had to be careful.

"I have been missing for a while, brother. I need to speak to the Fleet-Master for he will no doubt want to hear of my survival." Thel explained with as much respect as he could.

The Jiralhanae looked at each other and the second one barked something in their tongue before turning to face Thel again "What is your name?" The first one questioned.

_This is not good _"Thel 'Lodamee," Thel replied "I was in command of the team that would scout out installations left behind by our holy Gods. I went missing through one such mission that meant for me to kill the Humans at the installation, and scout the installation before reporting my findings to the Fleet-Master."

The Jiralhanae looked at each other and nodded before turning back to face Thel "Why did you go missing?" The first one questioned him.

"I must explain the details to the Fleet-Master." Thel tried to convince them to take him to the Fleet-Master.

"Tell us." The second one aggressively barked.

_Am I to fail when I am so close? Wait, no. I have no need to comply with their orders _"Show some respect to me!" Thel coldly snapped his mandibles at the second Jiralhanae.

"Or what?" he chuckled.

"We are the agents of the holy Prophet of Pity," The first one broke in "and if we tell you something, it is but the Prophet of Pity telling you."

_You would strangle this holy Prophet if you knew the truth._

"An Oracle teleported me and my team to this holy ring." Thel gave up and explained.

The Jiralhanae looked at each other, again, before looking back at Thel "Why did you believe that you should take this matter to the Fleet-Master?" The first one asked "If you contact a holy Oracle, you should immediately find a Prophet before taking the matter to your own race's superiors."

_NO! DAMN IT! _"I did not know that a Prophet had already came through that holy portal." Thel explained; knowing that he was in trouble. But he hoped he could find a way around it that avoided him having to make contact with Pity.

"It does not matter at the moment. But you must come with us." The Jiralhanae told Thel.

_I cannot do that _"I am not worthy to be in the holy Prophet of Pity's presence." Thel desperately tried to sway the Jiralhanae from taking him to the Prophet.

"Do not fear. It is highly possible that your encounter with the Oracle opened the portal," The first Jiralhanae reassured "You may have led us to the_ first_ holy ring. If this is true, the Prophets may feel_ unworthy to be in __your_ presence."

Thel knew that he was not getting out of this. He had no idea why his luck had failed him and that the worse happened "Okay, brother, Lead on." Thel gave up -knowing that he couldn't yell out to Var for that would make him seem crazy and the Fleet-Master may not wish to see him then.

The Jiralhanae positioned themselves so that one was leading the way and the other was behind Thel.

They led him the way they came and away from the place Thel was trying to get to. The Jiralhanae did, however, keep to the back alleys of the base to prevent Thel from being seen _Why would they need to hide me? Was Urse right and the Prophet suspected me? How did the Jiralhanae find me?_

As if the giant, hairy creatures had been hearing his thoughts, the one in front of him asked "Why were you hiding in the alleys?"

_Are there really Gods? And are they playing a cruel jape on me for abandoning them?_

"I did not want to cause a disturbance." Thel partially told the truth

"That makes no sense." The Jiralhanae behind Thel observed.

"Where is your team?" The one in front of Thel questioned Thel.

"They were killed by a Demon that came through the portal." Thel lied.

The Jiralhanae in front of Thel turned his head to look at the other one "Did that Kig-Yar sniper _not say_ he saw a Demon and that Zealot -Jal 'Farimee- fall of the edge near the portal and get sucked inside it?" _I was hoping this would work as an excuse._

"Yes!" The second Jiralhanae exclaimed "That stupid Kig-Yar should have shot the damn Demon with its pulse rifle when it had the chance."

"I will have him executed later." The first Jiralhanae said before turning his head back around to continue.

"How did you survive?" The one behind Thel asked as they began to approach a large Covenant portable Prophet's quarters.

_I thought of an excuse for this, too _"I barely did," Thel lied "I managed to kill the Demon at the last-minute. They are not as strong as we believe. I almost killed the Demon leader a couple of years pass. So _of course_ I was able to kill such a _lesser _one."

"The Prophet will reward you more for that." The second one assured.

_What reward could the Prophets give me if my entire soul was devoted to their lies? _"I seek no reward. For the greatest reward will soon begin." Thel reminded the Jiralhanae as they exited the alleys.

The Prophet's quarters were large -to say the least. There were a large number of portable gravity towers with Sangheili snipers in them, as well as about ten Honor Guards on each side of the path that led up to the quarter's main door.

"Be ready to behold the holy Prophet." The Jiralhanae in front of Thel announced as they approached the entrance to the Prophet's quarters.

_I must ignore my instincts, and resist the urge to kill this lying bastard._

"The doors opened with a hiss and a couple of beeps; and Thel saw the Prophet of Pity on his floating throne; reading from a holographic scroll.

"Holy Prophet, we bring you a Sangheili who _claims_ to be the leader of the team that went missing two segments ago." The fist Jiralhanae announced as he bowed in respect.

Thel to went to his knees and bowed his head in respect -despite his utter disgust of doing so _I promised that I would never knee to anything again. _

"leave us." The Prophet gestures as he put his scroll on a nearby table. Thel thought that the Prophet was talking to the Jiralhanae, but cocked his head around to see two Honor Guards exit the Prophet's quarters.

"Now," Pity began as he hovered over to where Thel was kneeling "How is it that such a minor one on the Great Journey -that we all walk- turned up on this holy ring before the Prophets -who should have been the first to walk on Halo's holy soil?"

_Soon, I will see your entrails being consumed by the Kig-Yar and Ung- Wait, no. You entrails are not even worthy to be eaten by such creatures _"I met a holy Oracle within the installation I was sent to. It teleported me here." Thel explained with no signs of hate or disgust in his voice.

"Why did the holy Oracle -voices of our divine lords- teleport you to this sacred ring -the key to out salvation?" The Prophet asked in a curious tone while massaging his wattles.

_I need to sway the topic _"It was not meant to be here. It was meant to be another Halo." Thel explained while heavily twitching and clicking his mandibles; trying carefully to change the topic.

"You did not answer my -the holy and noble Prophet of Pity's- question, and I -the holy Prophet of Pity- advise you do answer my -the holy Prophet of Pity's- question." The Prophet ordered Thel in an annoyed voice.

"It teleported us because I asked it to." Thel said truthfully.

"Why did you want it to teleport you to Halo- the sacred rings and keys to our salvation from this doomed existence?" The Prophet asked; curious; but Thel also believed him to be worried at the same time.

Thel could had made an easy enough excuse as to why, but he couldn't stand talking calmly to the pathetic creature "Because it told me the truth!"

After Thel said those words, he immediately looked up to see a shocked expression on the Prophet's face.

_SO IT IS TRUE! _All of Thel's doubts were finally destroyed "The Monarch spoke the truth!" Thel exclaimed "The Humans are the Reclaimers and _you lied!_"

The Prophet looked like he was about to explode; but he calmed down and looked to one of the Jiralhanae behind Thel "Remove his helmet."

The Jiralhanae did as he was ordered and when Thel's helmet was removed, the Prophet smacked Thel across the face with all its force, but failed to make Thel even twitch "I -the holy Prophet of Pity- Will Have You Executed For Your High Heresy, _HERETIC!_"

_This is almost laughable _"Your race is so weak that you cannot even _smack me_," Thel jeered "It is hard for me to imagine that I ever believed your people to be the Inheritors when your people are so weak. And as the Prophets say '_Gods, must be strong'_."

"Does Your Heresy Have No Limits?!" Pity asked in a shocked tone "You say things that are so unholy that even the _E__ternal Darkness will not want you!_"

_I do not even need you to confirm it. You are lying through your pathetic teeth! _"What heresy?" Thel asked "I saw your shocked face -so did the Jiralhanae- I know the _truth_ and so do you."

"I didn't see anything, heretic." One of the Jiralhanae said from behind Thel.

_No! NO! This cannot be _Thel quickly got up off of his knees and turned to face the Jiralhanae "What did the Prophets promise you? Will you go from _pets_ to protectors?"

"The Jiralhanae both looked at each other and chuckled.

_NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! YOU BASTARD BARBARIANS! _"To think I mourned for the Jiralhanae that died aboard the _Resplendent Fervor_," Thel mused "Your race are barbarians! YOUR ARE WORSE THAN THE _DAMN HUMANS!"_

"Bind and muffle him," Pity ordered the hairy creatures "Take him out the back way and secretly transport him to an isolated area for his execution."

_I cannot believe this complete and utter nonsense! _"You know my words are the truth for you will not let me be executed publicly," Thel observed "Do you barbarians even walk the fake path? Or are you just ignorant of what is plainly obvious?!"

"Your _lies_ are making me -the holy Prophet of Pity- sick," The Prophet jeered "Your _lies_ will never be heard, _heretic_."

_Oh I know this is not my end. I will kill you -slowly _"You mean the truth." Thel corrected the Prophet as the Jiralhanae placed holographic bounds on his wrists and a muffle over his mouth.

Thel heard the door open behind him.

"Ah," The Prophet's face went from angry and aggressive, to happy in but a mini-moment "A holy Sentinel -warrior of our hold Gods- has blessed us -those worthy to walk the blessed path- with its divine presence."

_Like I said, this is not the day I die._

The Prophet quickly hovered over to the Sentinel "Cover his eyes as well; he is not worthy to see a holy warrior of our Gods -the divine Forerunners."

The Sentinel quickly hovered over to Thel's face and looked at him for a mini-moment before making its way out of the building.

* * *

**September 5, 2555 ****[9006 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Unknown _Sahara_-class heavy Prowler.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

"Did anything _happen_ on the way to the execution site?" West questioned.

_Negative. Allow me to elaborate _"Negative. 'Lodamee could not engage in verbal conversation, nor take in visual Intel. And the Brutes did not engage in verbal conversation as-well." 098 elaborated.

"Then you may skip the trip and start at where I _assume_ you came in and saved the day," West picked up his Data-pad and began typing down everything 098 said with his stylus "Or you could tell me what happened with you while 'Lodamee was sneaking into the base."

_Allow me to elaborate _"What engaged with me at the Forerunner tower is irrelevant. It was 100 percent the Monarch explaining to me about the Forerunners and Halo while I was to remain stationary."

"Then the Monarch saw 'Lodamee was in trouble, right?" West questioned.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative," 098 nodded "He stated that he saw that 'Lodamee was in trouble through his Sentinels, and he sent me to assist him."

"Well continue when you arrived to save the day." West gestured for 098 to continue.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 nodded.

_I am but a super hero, am I? Saving the day and saving the world. No, I am the villain._

* * *

**November 4, 2555 ****[1617 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

******Unknown Location, Unknown Halo Array.**

******Thel 'Lodamee...**

* * *

The Guider came to an unexpected halt which Thel figured that they had arrived at the "_isolated_" area.

The Jiralhanae barked something at each other before dismounting the Guider and grabbing Thel out of the Guider's back seats and dragged him out onto the cold grass.

_I hope that whoever the Monarch sent to assist me arrives soon._

"How do we lower his shield?" One of the Jiralhanae asked his comrade.

"I bought this." His comrade replied.

Thel didn't know what "This" Was, but he believed it to be a plasma pistol.

"So what are we meant to do with his body?" One of the Jiralhanae asked; chuckling while doing so.

"What do you mean?" The second asked in a confused tone.

"What happens if the damned Sangheili find his body?" The first Jiralhanae asked "They will be wondering why their comrade is dead on a holy ring with a projectile from a spiker in his head."

The first one began to sound like he was musing "I guess we will have to _eat him_." It finally said.

_Barbarians _"YOU DAMN BARBARIANS! A THOUSAND HELLS AWAIT YOU!" Thel roared but he could not be heard when he was muffled..

"Shut up." The first Jiralhanae said as Thel heard him grab his spiker _Am I really to die this day?_

"What's that?" The second one asked _Or am I to survive after all? _

"DEMON!" The first Jiralhanae roared.

This took Thel by surprise _He sent a Demon to save me? Oh the bloody irony!_

Thel couldn't see anything; but he heard the loud gunshot from the Demon's weapon as well as the impact, and a grunt from one of the Jiralhanae, and the sound of blood and matter splattering on the ground.

_I always thought Jiralhanae should all have shields instead of just the __Chieftains. I regret ever thinking that._

Thel heard what sounded like something heavy hitting something fleshy before hearing struggled grunting.

"WHERE ARE YOUR GODS NOW?!" Thel jeered blindly through his muffle.

The sounds of struggle were heard for a couple of mini-moments before Thel began to hear the Jiralhanae roar in pain followed by what sounded like flesh ripping.

The thud of the Jiralhanae's body hitting the ground reassured Thel that he would live another day -unless he was somehow killed on the way back to the tower.

Thel heard the loud footsteps of the Demon as it approached him "This is annoyingly ironic." Thel told the Demon through his muffle as it took his off bounds and muffle, and uncovered his eyes.

Thel quickly jumped up and hurried over to the Guider where he assumed the Jiralhanae kept his weapons as trophies.

_These hairy 'brutes' -as the Humans called them- like to collect trophies of those they killed. More traces of their barbaric acts. I do not know why I trusted them in the first place._

Thel found his helmet, his energy sword, and his plasma rifle. Thel took his equipment and turned around to grunt in disgust when he saw that one of the Jiralhanae was missing the top part of its head. Thel guessed that was what the flesh ripping sound was _I do not believe such a barbaric act was necessary. _

"Back when I was a soldier for the Covenant, I would have killed you in rage for such a _barbaric_ act," Thel told the Demon "But these bastards deserve what they got."

The Demon nodded in reply.

Thel noticed the cut along the Demon's chest armor. The wound looked to be deep but that must not of been enough to stop the Demon.

_He is in danger of dying _"You will most likely die of infection without treatment." Thel warned the Demon which it shook its head in reply.

_No? _"What do you mean?" Thel asked before remembering that Thel couldn't understand the Demon "Never mind." Thel quickly said before the demon could reply with a gesture.

Thel then turned to the Guider "We will use this to get back to the tower." Thel told the Demon as he hopped into the driver's seat with the Demon going around the Guider and getting in the passenger's seat.  
_It is close to me -I do not like it being so close to me. _Thel got rid of the thought and reminded himself that he would need to cooperate with the Demon if he wanted to bring about the end of the war _A common goal that we both wish to __accomplish. And a common enemy that we both wish to destroy. He can wish to kill the Prophet of Pity all he wants... but Pity... is... MINE!_

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you (again) to all those who have read this far.**

**It was exciting to do Thel 'Lodamee's POV for I don't think the hatred between the Elites and Prophets and the mental effects of the truth have really been deeply explored in the official Halo Universe.**

**Now, the Guider: I was searching the Halo wiki for a Covenant vehicle that would be similar to a Humvee where the Brutes could just place Thel in a seat and not have to worry about him escaping. However, I didn't find and Covenant vehicles that allowed this so I made up my own.  
The Type-24 Light Mobile Infantry Transport (A.K.A: The Guider) Is what I made up.**

**Please leave a review telling me what you think of the story so far, and please point out any lore mistakes or typos I may have made.**

**Thank you to this story's followers: Nightwing141, lyndakey1.**


	5. Chapter Four: Clarification

**[ CHAPTER FOUR: CLARIFICATION ]**

* * *

_She stood there; like a god.  
_

_She wasn't a god, and she knew it.  
But it couldn't be helped._

_We were SPARTANs. He was Ares, and she was Athena._

_"Red," She began as she took a sip of her coffee (That was not my name) "We have a unique situation here."_

_I just stood there; like stone. I didn't move, or blink. I knew this annoyed her to some extent -but what did she expect?  
_

_She took another sip of her coffee before putting her mug down, and standing up "At 04:27 yesterday, you were shot in the back with a single round from a M6C PDW by your Handler: Petty Officer Second Class, Gerry Paiston."  
_

_"Paiston is at the moment being court-marshaled, but I'm curious about the report," She left her desk and walked over to me "Apparently -at the age of 8- you did not cry when a 12.7x40mm M228 Semi-Armor-Piercing High-Penetration round penetrated your back."  
_

_She seemed worried -but at the same time, she seemed like she found something good._

_"Ma'am," I said "I have always shared my pain."_

* * *

**September 5, 2555 ****[9027 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Unknown _Sahara_-class heavy Prowler.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

"I assume that being so close to your sworn enemy wasn't _comfortable_?" West asked while he finished typing whatever he was typing on his Data-pad.

_Affirmative _098 nodded "Affirmative. I had to resist my instincts to eliminate it."

West let out a chuckle. _He seems less official _"So, how long did it take you to get back to the tower?"

"approximately half an hour with the Type-24 Light Mobile Infantry Transport." 098 answered.

West took a sip of his coffee _It is a popular trend for ONI agents to drink a lot of coffee _"What happened back at the tower?"

_Allow me to elabor- Super Hero... _"The situation was red," 098 began "The Forerunner A.I -designated: The Monarch- came up with a plan to get us off of installation 06."

"The _UNSC Kryptonite?_" West broke in.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 nodded.

"What the Monarch did was reckless and dangerous," West growled "A lot of Humans died because of it."

_Negative _"Negative. Installation 06 would have been activated if not for it." 098 defended the Monarch.

West let out a sigh "Just continue, please, sierra."

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 nodded.

_What the Monarch did saved my life... in more ways than one..._

* * *

**November 4, 2547 ****[1652 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Forerunner Anti-Gravity Well Facility, Base Of Forerunner Tower, Unknown Halo Array.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

098 and the Ultra entered the tower's anti-gravity well's POE to see 8 Grunts -4 of which were the ones that liked to scream when they saw 098- sitting in the hallway with Rek standing guard over them.

"Scream and you are dead." Rek quickly warned the Grunts with a snap of its mandibles before they could begin screaming.

"But, Demon is _scary._" A Grunt protested in a fearful bark.

"If you scream, you will witness an angry Sangheili Major that has recently found out that his entire existence is a _lie_. And that will be more scary than all the Demons combined." Rek warned the Grunts again with a couple sharp and cold snaps of its mandibles.

"One thing more scary than that," Another Grunt joined in "And that being never eat from food nipple again."

"Scream, and I _assure_ you, you will never get to eat from your 'food nipple' again." Rek warned the Grunts.

"Lets go." A Grunt Major barked as it got up and waved its comrades to follow it.

Another Grunt let out a whine "It cold out there."

"Yeah," another Grunt joined in "do not want to go out there."

_This is highly distracting _098 quickly grabbed his DMR off of his back and pointed it at the group of Grunts. The Grunts all looked at him and shock before jumping up and running out of the building; screaming.

"Pathetic creatures!" Rek parted its mandibles and laughed.

098 slung his DMR over his back and began to head to the room the Monarch was in without waiting for the Ultra.

"That was rather entertaining," The Monarch said as 098 entered the room it was in "Believe it or not, The Unggoy used to be more _advanced and intelligent_ than the Sangheili -back before the installations were first activated."

"You jest?" Rek clicked its mandibles in a panicked way as it, 098, and the Ultra came into the room.

"I'm afraid Forerunner Ancillas were not built to have any type of sense of humor." The Monarch explained.

"Just do not tell them," Rek begged the Monarch "We will never here the end of it."

"You have my word." The Monarch reassured.

"Gods!" The Ultra exclaimed "Urse, Anve, I forgot about them!"

"Relax," The Monarch told the Ultra "I had one of my Sentinels find them and escort them back to the tower after you were captured."

The Ultra breathed in relief.

"Oh, I have found something," The Monarch announced "It's not the Monitor of this installation -nor it's Sentinels. But one of my Sentinels found a Huragok hiding out in a nearby facility."

"_A Huragok_?" The Ultra clicked its hidden mandibles in a shocked way.

"Yes," The Monarch confirmed "I was rather surprised when I found one here -since they were not functioned to be located on the installations."

"_Function_?!" The Ultra exclaimed.

"Yes," The Monarch confirmed "They were created by my creators before the activation of the installations. The Huragok that survived did so on shield worlds. How one got here must have meant that it escaped the shield world -for they may be '_super computers_' but they are organic and would have died with every other sentient being in the galaxy if they were not in a shield world."

"WE ENSLAVED THEM!" The Ultra roared in shock "WE DID NOT KNOW... WE DID NOT KNOW THEY WERE A CREATION OF THE FORERUNNERS!."

"Calm down, brother," Rek placed a reassuring hand on The Ultra's shoulder "There are no Gods to have betrayed."

"We have done so much under the blindness of the Prophet's lies," The Ultra leaned against the wall to support himself, it was obviously in a great deal of shock "We have wiped out entire species, enslaved species, died for nothing! WE NEED TO LEAVE THIS RING!"

"I will get to that," The Monarch said as the door opened to reveal a floating squid creature floated into the room "But first: Huragoks can modify anything. Being a '_super computer_' they can utilize Forerunner technology, and use it to modify your equipment."

The Huragok began to approach 098 and started touching him with its tentacles. 098 slowly lowered his hand to his holstered M6D "Relax, Reclaimer, it would not harm you even if you were its worse enemy." The Monarch reassured.

"What do you mean by _modify equipment_?" The Ultra clicked its hidden mandibles in question.

"Reclaimer, please give the Huragok -called: Lighter Than Some- your combat skin's helmet." The Monarch told 098.

_Affirmative _098 grabbed his helmet and pulled it off.

"It is a Human." Rek observed.

098 ignored the observation and gave the Huragok his helmet. As soon as his helmet touched the Huragok's -designated: Lighter Than Some's- tentacles, it began to twist and turn it in its tentacles as if examining it.

"What is it doing?" The Ultra questioned the Monarch.

"You'll see." The Monarch assured the Ultra.

Lighter floated over to a holographic terminal next to the door and window with 098's helmet still in its tentacles. It then began to commune with the terminal while examining his helmet

_Huragok -designated: Lighter Than Some- engaging in illegal modification of essential equipment. Making Lighter Than Some disengage from illegal modification is mandatory _098 quickly pulled out his M6D and aimed it at Lighter as it began to pull his helmet apart.

"Reclaimer, please relax," The Monarch told 098 "It is only making things better."

_Negative _"Tell it to disengage from illegally modifying my essential equipment" 098 ordered the Monarch.

"Reclaimer, I promise it will not damage anything," The Monarch reassured "The Huragoks are the most intelligent organic beings in the galaxy. It is making your helmet better. I promise you, this is for the better."

098 wasn't about to lower his weapon but the Ultra got in his way -which 098 responded with by trying to aim around it, but the Elite just moved with him.

"Disengage from possible friendly-fire." 098 warned the Ultra; knowing that it wouldn't understand him but hoped that the Monarch will translate for him -which it didn't.

But before things could escalate out of control, Lighter came around the Ultra and handed 098 his helmet back with 098 immediately grabbing his helmet and putting it back on to notice that nothing had changed save a new tiny glyph on the top left corner of his HUD which was glowing blue.

"What illegal modification did you proceeded to do?" 098 asked Lighter but noticed the words he said left his helmet's outer microphones as Sangheili _Unknown illegal modification requires elaboration.__  
_

"What?" Rek confusingly clicked its mandibles while scratching them in confusing.

The doors behind them opened to show two Elite Minors entering the room.

"Brothers." The Ultra clicked its hidden mandibles in relief.

"We heard you got captured, brother" one of the Minors clicked its mandibles.

"I was, brother," The Ultra nodded "But I was... _saved _by the Demon."

The two Minors -that 098 guessed was Urse and Anve- looked at each other in surprise before turning to face the Ultra again "How ironic." one of them finally clicked its mandibles in amusement.

Swifter let out a little moan as it moved out from behind 098.

"A Huragok?" The other Minor clicked its mandibles in confusion.

"Yes." The Monarch answered before Rek or the Ultra could.

"What is one doing here?" The first Minor asked.

"May I explain later?" The Monarch asked "There are _things _we must discuss."

"Of course." The first Minor clicked its mandibles before they both moved and positioned themselves behind the Ultra.

098 looked to see Lighter was moving over to the Monarch.

"Of Course!" The Monarch exclaimed "Huragok can disconnect me!"

"It can make you mobile?" The Ultra clicked its hidden mandibles in excitement and confusion.

"Yes, yes," The Monarch confirmed "This will make my plan all the more easier."

_Elaboration required _"Elaborate." 098 said but noticed the words that exited his mouth was English, but the words that exited his helmet's microphones were Sangheili _Unknown illegal modification requires elaboration.__  
_

"You can talk our tongue, now?" The first Minors asked.

_Negative _"Negative." 098 shook his head; again, it was in Sangheili.

"I doubt that." The second Minor clicked its mandibles in a way that made 098 think it was scoffing.

"It was the Huragok -Lighter Than Some. It gave the Reclaimer the option to toggle on -or off- a translator device that could translate his words into Sangheili." The Monarch elaborate as Lighter began to open a panel on the mainframe the Monarch was hooked up to.

"How do I deactivate it?" 098 questioned the Monarch.

Lighter moved in front of the Monarch's monitor that was hooked up to the mainframe, and did a number of gestures with its tentacles.

"It says that it's voice controlled," The Monarch explained "The word to deactivate it is: _Sangheili_."

_Simplistic acknowledged._"Sangheili." 098 said and the glowing glyph that was on his HUD disappeared.

"I recommend you keep it on." The Monarch advised.

098 nodded "Sangheili." And just like that, the glowing glyph reappeared.

Lighter moved back in front of the Monarch's monitor again and did some more hand gestures before moving back to the exposed panel.

"Is says that it can give you more language translations if you need them." The Monarch clarified what Lighter said.

"It should not be necessary -nearly every Covenant species speaks Sangheili." Rek broke in.

"Oh, that felt weird." The Monarch said as Lighter disconnected some type of Forerunner cable.

"What is your plan, anyway?" The Ultra asked the Monarch.

"The planet on the other-side of the portal is in the same system that the planet that the installation I resided in is," The Monarch began "And a number of Reclaimer ships have yet to leave the planet. I plan on going through the portal when I become mobile. When I do, I will travel to one of the Reclaimer's ships -which from what my Sentinel has researched of the Reclaimer ships, they have a lesser Slip-Space drive- and ask them for assistance. If they accept, I will give them the coordinates for this installation's atmosphere -I already have the coordinates, but I still cannot pin-point which installation this is"

"That will be risky." The Ultra observed.

"Can you not just go to the base beneath the portal?" Rek asked the Monarch.

"I could," The Monarch replied "but if I do and they don't listen to me, and I _then_ go through the portal, the Reclaimer ships may be gone. I cannot risk that."

"How long will it take the Human ship to get here?" The Ultra asked.

"By what my Sentinel has researched on the Reclaimer ships -through scanning of Reclaimer terminals in a nearby Reclaimer city that has yet to be '_glassed_'- it will take about two weeks. And once we arrive, I might be able to figure out which installation this is by examining the surrounding planets."

"Two weeks?" The Ultra clicked its hidden mandibles in disappointment "No doubt the blind ones at the base have already pin-pointed the coordinates of this ring, and a fleet will soon arrive."

"The ship just needs to come out of Slip-Space, come down and quickly pick us up, and enter Slip-Space to one the Reclaimer home planets." The Monarch explained.

_Negative _"Negative," 098 broke in "Emergency Priority Order 098831A-1 -more commonly know as 'Cole Protocol'-: Article one:

One: Activate selective purge of databases on all ship-based and planetary data networks.

Two: Initiate triple-screen check to ensure all data has been erased and all backups neutralized.

Three: Execute Viral Data Scavengers (Download from UNSCTTP:/EPWW:COLEPROTOCOL/Virtualscav/fbr.091)

Four: If retreating from Covenant forces, all ships must enter Slipstream space with randomized vectors not directed toward Earth, the Inner Colonies, or any other human population center.

Five: In case of imminent capture by Covenant forces and boarders, all UNSC ships Must self-destruct. Violation of this directive will be considered an act of treason and pursuant to UNSC Military law articles JAG 845-P and JAG 7556-L, such violations are punishable by life imprisonment or execution."

The Elites looked at 098 in confusion before Rek finally seemed to get it "THAT EXPLAINS A LOT!" it parted its mandibles and roared in annoyance.

"That _thing _saved your existence." The Ultra observed. _  
_

"Cole Protocol proved to be effective." 098 agreed.

"Finally!" The Monarch said with 098 quickly turning to see what he meant only to see the eye like thing -confirmed to be the Monarch's mobile form- was disconnected from the mainframe and the Monarch immediately floated out of the room's doors.

"It is off fast." Rek observed.

The Ultra let out a huff and approached the one-way window that covered the entire right wall.  
"Rek, Urse, Anve," it clicked its hidden mandibles "You may leave me, brothers. And take the Huragok with you"

"The Demon also, brother?" One of the Minors asked.

"I need to speak with it." The Ultra replied as if 098 wasn't even there.

"The dangers-"

The Minor was interrupted by the Ultra before it could finish "The Demon would have killed me already if it wanted to. So please leave us, brothers."

Rek and the two Minors lowered their heads in respect before making their out of the room while waving Lighter to follow them and once they were gone, 098 approached the Ultra.

"I am thankful that Luro -that fool- prevented me from executing your leader -'_The Master Chief-_." The Ultra clicked its hidden mandibles as 098 positioned himself next to it.

_He always was lucky _"He proceeded to bring up topics of you." 098 said while observing the distant mountains and hills. The Sun was also setting.

"What did it say of me?" The Ultra asked.

"He stated that you were very effective in combat -for an Major class Elite. He did not mention you in the way you believe. He more of utilized you as a reason for him to be more effective in combat." 098 explained.

"So I had a mental affect on it?" The Ultra asked; getting more _curious_.

_Large increase of effectiveness: confirms question _"He is stronger because of you." 098 nodded in confirmation.

"I have _doomed_ any warrior that goes up against it." The Ultra chuckled.

"You engage Sierra-117; yet you did not eliminated him?" 098 questioned the Ultra.

"Me and two Minors engaged it and its companion _(Fred, John and Kelly. Arthur and Solomon were eliminated before arriving at the CAS-class assault carrier)_ while they were making their way through the halls of the ship I was stationed on," The Ultra began"One of its companions killed one of my men and held us up while it and its female companion continued. eventually, it killed my other Minor but disengaged me as I proved to be too much for it _-_coward," 098 looked to him and had to resist the urge to hit the Elite "I manage to catch up to your '_Master Chief_' and another female -that we kidnapped- with it _(Doctor Halsey) _I tossed it a sword and it excepted my duel. I managed to out-match it; but before I could kill it, the Supreme Commander detached the lower part of the ship and caught me in a gravity lift."

"I almost proceeded to go on that mission." 098 said.

"Perhaps it was better that you did not." The Ultra suggested.

_Negative. I would have proceeded to assisted Sierra-117 _098 decided to keep the thought to himself "Is that all?" 098 asked.

"What we just talked about was actually, off topic." The Ultra replied._  
_

_Elaboration required _"Elaboration of topic require." 098 told the Ultra._  
_

"About the urges we had to kill each other in the Guider." The Ultra clarified._  
_

_You proceeded to have hostile urges as-well? _"You proceeded to have hostile urges as-well?" 098 asked.

The Ultra chuckled "Demon, I want to drive my blade into your guts and rip them out _so_ much. But I know that what horror you have inflicted on us we caused. It is out fault for your sins against us. I remind myself this when I fail to resist the urge and lower my hand to my sword."

_Possible contact _098 backed away from the Elite; watching it carefully and lowering his hand to his pistol. The Ultra seemed to notice this "I said that 'I remind myself why I should not kill you' before I do."

_Elaboration of effectiveness required _"Personal reminders effective?" 098 asked.

"Yes. I have resisted the urge to kill you plenty of times; so I would say it is effective." The Ultra reassured with a few clicks of its hidden mandibles while it began to cross its arms over its chest.

_Possibility__ of personal reminder failing at being effective: high _"It may not be effective in future situations." 098 warned the Ultra.

"Then let us agree on our honor that we will not harm each other while we are on this ring." The Ultra suggested.

_I have no honor. The missions accomplishment is all that matters. Everything else is irrelevant _"Honor is ineffective with me." 098 stated truthfully.

"Then that leaves me in trouble, but you need not worry." The Ultra reassured 098.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative," 098 nodded "I will not make an attempt to engage and eliminate you, if you do not proceed to eliminated and engage me. My concerns are only of my safety, not that of personal feelings."

"Then we shall both be safe." The Ultra stated.

_Is current topic ready to be disengaged from?b_"Is that all?" 098 asked.

"One last thing," The Ultra replied "You wound. You will not survive if it gets infected."

_Unknown solution _"Unknown solution." 098 told the Ultra.

"_What_?" It clicked its hidden mandibles in confusion.

___Allow me to elaborate in Human non-military verbal wording _"I do not know how to handle this." 098 replied in more "Human" words.

"Take the Guider, and travel to the East," The Ultra told 098 "The Monarch said that there was an ocean that way. use the salt water to kill any infections in the cut before using the material from your ammo pouches as bandages -it is limited, but it shall work."

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 nodded as he was about to turn around and leave but spotted something in the distance through the one-way window.

"So, _they_ finally arrived." The Ultra mused.

098 didn't really know what he meant; but upon zooming in with his visor, he saw what he meant.

A Covenant fleet was exiting Slip-Space...

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter wasn't as long as the others; but it more or less served as a set up for what is to come.**

**Do not think that the beginning segment is nothing -it means more than you believe.  
**

**I want to thank Lydnakey1 for bringing a plot idea to my head (THANKS LYNDA!)****  
**

**Please review to give me feedback on any lore mistakes or typos I might have made and also just review to give me support**

**Thanks to this story's followers: Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger. **


	6. Chapter Five: The Fleet-Master

**[ CHAPTER FIVE: THE FLEET-MASTER ]**

* * *

_"All who walk the blessed path will find salvation... even in death."_

_This was the Prophets age-old promise that shall be __fulfilled._

_And we fought hard for this promise, for we lived by the creed that said "Station and Salvation both commanded a heavy price."_

_But we gripped out blades and told those who feared the darkness that "Out of the darkness, these blades will light our way." And to that, they ceased their fear -knowing that the Sangheili would safeguard those who walk the blessed path._

_We stood behind the Prophets and prayed "Glory and honor guide our ascension," which the Prophets thanked us for our loyalty._

_And what loyalty we had for the Prophets, for every Sangheili remembers the words "__On the blood of our fathers. On the blood of our sons. We swore to uphold the Covenant!"_

___But the Prophets responded with out loyalty with a simple sentence that defined the Covenant "__The true devotee honors our name with actions, not words."_

_____So we fought to uphold the Prophets words on the battlefield. Why the battlefield? Because we remember the Sangheili philosophy "Victory is secured, not from the throne, but from the front lines."_

_____We fought and died for the holy Prophets. And when we let blood spill in their name, we did so before coming to them. They honored us with but a few words which defined us ever onward "__With this sacrament of blood we journey into the Divine Beyond."_

_____With the spilling of our blood being noticed by the Gods, our path on the Great Journey was secure._

* * *

**September 5, 2555 ****[1103 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Unknown _Sahara_-class heavy Prowler.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

"So things were getting calmer between you and 'Lodamee?" West asked.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 confirmed with a nod.

West got up and went over to the coffee machine on the briefing room's kitchen bench "Want one?" He asked as he got a mug.

_Negative _"Negative." 098 declined.

"Water then?" He asked.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 accepted with a nod.

"Sure thing." West said as he got a bottle of water out of the fridge under the kitchen benches.

"I reviewed a report on those moron SPARTAN IVs last night." West told 098.  
_Situation was going to become relevant._

"I apologize for-"

West broke him off "What for? They needed to be taught a lesson and you did that. Hell, I never even liked the idea of the SPARTAN IV program. But ONI needed to make sure that the public didn't get suspicious as to why the SPARTANs just disappear.

_Acknowledged _"Acknowledged." 098 nodded.

"So, what happened in the days before the _Kryptonite _arrived?" West asked while filling up his mug with coffee that was already in a jug.

"Me and the Covenant diverted?" 098 asked.

"Who else?" West asked in a confused tone.

_Allow me to elaborate _"The Covenant themselves." 098 elaborated.

West quickly spun around in shock "How the hell would you know that? The diverted is one thing. But the Covenant themselves?"

_I know all... _"Do you desire me to elaborate?" 098 asked.

West let out a sigh and seemed to be deciding what to say "Like I said earlier -a good book. I can wait as long as I do not need to know how you know all of this straight away."

_That would depend... _"Negative." 098 shook his head.

West grabbed his coffee mug and the bottle of water and came back over to the table "So, who's POV are you going to be going off of?" West asked as he gave 098 the water bottle.

098 waited for West to take his seat "Fleet-Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee."

West had a shocked expression on his face "Out of all the Elites... him?"

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 confirmed with a nodded.

"Well don't let me stop you! -this should be interesting!" West gestured 098 to continue in an excited tone.

_Affirmative- ____All who walk the blessed path will find salvation...even in death._

* * *

**November 5, 2547 ****[0912 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

******The Base Of Forerunner Portal, Unknown Halo Array.**

******Vale Nar 'Sarasee...**

* * *

"Why did the Demon not head back through the portal?" Yexyn 'Sarasai mused, scratching his lower mandibles.

Fleet-Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee cocked his head around to see his closest friend observing the portal which had dozens of Unggoy marching out of it.

"The ramps were not activated at the time, brother." Vale explained; clicking his mandibles indifferently -as usual.

It was likely true since the Ranger scouts they sent through flew back through the portal. Vale decided he would check with the Rangers themselves, but he was convinced that the ramps on the side of the portal he was on appeared when they activated the ramps on the other side of the portal.

Yexyn twitched his mandibles in annoyance "So the _Demon_ spreads its dirty feet across Halo's holy soil."

_More than that, brother _"And spills blood." Vale reminded Yexyn with the two missing Jiralhanae in his mind.

Yexyn quickly cocked his head around to face Vale "They may yet live."

_Perhaps _"I mean to uncover their fate, brother." Vale assured Yexyn "But the holy Prophet of Pity seeks to continue avoiding me."

"I do not remember you as one to accept avoidance." Yexyn clicked his mandibles in amusement.

_Being around a Prophet requires change _"The Prophet's excuses are worth to change that," Vale stated with a few clicks of his mandibles "Most of the time the holy Prophet is in the middle of Sermons -and it is heresy to interrupt."

Yexyn looked towards a nearby holo tank that the Prophet of Pity would use to communicate to those who walk the path -so he would not be required to leave his quarters "Brother, I do not believe the holy Prophet is doing a Sermon -at the moment."

Vale craned his head around to see that no Sermon was being done _So__ be it._

Vale cocked his head back around to face Yexyn "Brother, I shall heed what you spoke and go immediately to speak with the holy Prophet -before it is too late."

"I have always been an asset to your wisdom." Yexyn happily clicked his mandibles .

_You speak the truth _"And never let a soul tell you otherwise." Vale told Yexyn before turning to make his way to the Prophet's quarters.

Things around the base had gotten much busier since half of Vale's fleet arrived. The rest of the fleet, however, would arrive once they were done glassing the planet on the other-side of the portal.

But with half of Vales fleet came a large number of reinforcements; but the base was still not large enough, so most of the forces had to remain on the ships that were stationed over the portal and base.

Vale's fleet -The _Second Fleet of Divine Trinity-_ Was a reasonably large fleet. It may had not been a massive fleet, but it was big enough for a Prophet to decide to take passage.  
It consisted of:  
2 CAS-Class Assault Carriers: the _Everlasting Retribution_ -captained by Vale himself, and the flag-ship of the fleet-, and the _Grand Cathedral _-captained by Tain 'Vadamee.  
3 RPV-Class Light Destroyers: the _Almighty Testament _-captained by Zul 'Refumee-, the _Entwining Guidance _-captained by Tes 'Casermee- and the _Soul Predicament _-captained by Huko 'Charasai.  
1 ORS-Class Heavy Cruiser: the _Condolence_ _-c_aptained by Sek 'Moramee.  
1 RCS-Class Armored Cruiser: the _Sinful Wind _-captained by Yexyn 'Sarasai.  
2 DAV-Class Light Corvettes: the _Whisper of Torment _-captained by Frasa 'Yulakee-, and the _Midnight Harmony _-captained by Kerek 'Atumee.  
5 CPV-Class Heavy Destroyers: the _Divine Cleanser _-captained by Res 'Mdamaee-, the _Objurgation _-captained by Baras 'Tumranee-, the _Ultimate Dispensation _-captained by Herac 'Ulrahee-, the _Pinnacle of Rain _-captained by Mje 'Rasternee-, and the _Spiritual Sacrament _-captained by Eter 'Volee.  
2 DDS-Class Carriers: the _Absent Desire -c_aptained by Isal 'Vadamee-, and the _Divine Crusader _-captained by Ve 'Mantakree.  
The minor ships counted for 11 CRS-Class Light Cruisers, 26 CCS-Class Battlecruisers, 7 SDV-Class Heavy Corvettes, 6 agriculture support ships, and 42 Frigates.

The fleet massed up to 108 ships.

As for the ships that came through the portal, they consisted of: Vale's flag-ship -the _Everlasting Retribution_-, the _Condolence_, the _Sinful Wind_, both of the DAV-Class Light Corvettes, and 3 of the agriculture support ships, 4 of the SDV-Class Heavy Corvettes, 4 CRS-Class Light Cruisers, both of the DDS-Class Carriers, 10 CCS-Class Battlecruisers, and 20 Frigates.

Vale had the DDS-Class Carriers hovering directly above the base, with gravity lifts set up for the 4000 soldiers inside to quickly get down to the ground if they needed to.

Vale also had all of the CCS-class battlecruisers and SDV-Class Heavy Corvettes scouting out the holy ring while the rest of the fleet was stationed above the portal and base with 3 large gravity lifts set up -so far- for them to deliver supplies and/or soldiers when it was required of them.

Vale also had desires to try and convince the Prophet of Pity to retreat back up to the _Everlasting Retribution -s_o he would be safe.

As for the base itself: Perimeter walls were being put up around the base, a number of portable buildings were being set up, and a large amount of anti-gravity towers were put around the cliffs and hills located near the portal.

But since the base was being shared by the Sangheili and Jiralhanae; there were risks of conflict; and so far: two fights had broken out between the Sangheili and Jiralhanae -which the Jiralhanae started; of course- with both of the Jiralhanae being executed for causing conflict.

Vale hoped that executing the Jiralhanae would get he Prophet's attention -which it did not.

"Fleet-Master!" Vale snapped his head behind him to see a young Minor running up to him.

_Rirst 'Amonee _Vale made sure he interacted with the soldiers of his fleet -to let them know he cared for them. Unfortunately, though, Vale had no time to speak with the Minor.

"Forgive me, brother. But I must hurry -for I have words to speak with the holy Prophet of Pity." Vale informed with a few regretful clicks of his mandibles as the young Minor slowed down to a halt by his side.

"I do not mean to take up your time, brother," Rirst clicked his mandibles in excitement "But allow me to speak with you as you make haste to the holy Prophet's quarters."

_So be it _"We will need to cease when I arrive at the quarters." Vale told Rirst.

"But of _course_!" Rirst happily clicked his mandibles in reply.

_He must be excited to be among the first to walk on Halo's holy soil _"So, brother, what do you desire to speak about?" Vale asked as he moved out-of-the-way for a Kig-Yar patrol.

"I mean to thank you for guiding us to the first holy ring." Rirst explained as he to moved out-of-the-way for the patrol.

_I require no thanks for I had no mean for this to happen. _"Brother, I had no meaning to be the guider to Halo; but I am. The holy Prophet of Pity, however, would prefer to hear that it was him." Vale clicked his mandibles in clarification as they continued.

"But I -and others- know the _truth_!" Rirst stated as they made a turn along the path between the buildings.

_The words you speak are dangerous _"I appreciate your acknowledgement that this fleet belongs to me, brother," Vale clicked his mandibles in thanks as they took another turn "But be warned, brother; the holy Prophet of Pity may try to use your words against you."

"_But why_?" Rirst clicked his mandibles in a worried way.

_You are still but young. I hope the Great Journey begins before you have to worry about politics _"Because the Prophets are cautious; they do not want to risk a challenge to their authority." Vale clicked his mandibles in clarification.

"How is it a challenge?" Rirst clicked his mandibles in question "Both the Sangheili and the holy Prophets share equal control over the Covenant -_if not more!_ _(That is true) _We control the military while they control the religion; and if the military discovers Halo instead of the Prophets, what does it matter? _(It matters to them)_ We all walk the path and no-matter who discovers Halo, we all become Gods!"

_You are wise for your age _"Your words are true, brother. But you must keep them to yourself. Make sure you do nothing to jeopardize your spot on the Journey." Vale reminded Rirst as they approached the Prophet's quarters.

"I will do so, brother," Rirst clicked his mandibles in reassurance "Now, I shall leave you to your business."

"Come seek me if you desire to speak again." Vale told Rirst as they approached the quarter's doors.

"Of course." Rirst nodded before turning around and making his way.

_He is of a good nature. It is reassuring to know that I have such good soldiers under my command _Vale watched Rirst disappear around a corner before he turned and went through the door.

As usual: the Prophet was sitting on his floating throne; reading a holographic scroll -which Vale noticed he always did.

"Fleet-Master?" The Prophet asked in surprise.

_He did not proceed to expect to see me _"Holy Prophet of Pity." Vale quickly knelt in respect.

"Why have the Gods -the divine Forerunners- _blessed_ me -the holy Prophet of Pity- with such a visit from one oh so worthy to walk the blessed path?" He asked while putting his scroll down on a table.

"Holy Prophet, I mean to speak to you about the two missing Jiralhanae Captain Ultras." Vale clicked his mandibles to explain his visit

"I -the holy Prophet of Pity- was actually about to do another holy Sermon -to spread the words of the holy Gods -whose path we follow." The Prophet told Vale.

_No you were not _"Forgive me; but time is of the essence, we must speak now, holy Prophet." Vale tried to convince the Prophet.

The Prophet let out a sigh "So be it. The spreading of our God's -the holy Forerunners- holy words can wait. You may rise, oh so worthy Fleet-Master."

Vale complied and stood up _Must we offer false courtesies?_

It was no secret that Vale and the Prophet of Pity _did not get_ _along_; so Vale didn't know what the false courtesies were for. It may have been due to protocol -to set a good example for the Honor Guards. Vale knew one thing, though, and that was that the holy Prophet of Pity would be cursing him before the day is over._  
_

"You may speak your mind, oh so worthy Fleet-Master." The Prophet waved its long hand.

_So I shall _"Your avoidance of me has been noticed." Vale began but was interrupted by the Prophet of Pity before he could continue.

"Who would question _my _-the holy Prophet of Pity's- intentions?" The holy Prophet asked "I -the holy Prophet of Pity- am the holy Prophet of Pity -Voice of the Covenant; who walk the sacred path to salvation."

_Am I in need of this reminding protocol?_"It does not matter," Vale reminded him with a few clicks of his mandibles "But these missing Jiralhanae do."

"Why do those you resent -the oh so worthy Jiralhanae- matter to you -the worthy Fleet-Master?" The Prophet of Pity rubbed his wobbles.

_I do not resent the Jiralhanae _"This feud is unnecessary, unneeded. I do not agree with such things the Jiralhanae do; but they walk the blessed path. And all those who walk the blessed path are brothers," Vale clicked his mandibles in explanation "And those who serve under my fleet matter to me."

"_Such scandal_; for a Sangheili to care for a Jiralhanae." The Prophet remarked in an excited tone.

_If I cared for what others think of me, I would not be as effective as I am this day _"I care not for what anyone -other than the holy Prophets- thinks of me." Vale told him.

"Well know that us Prophets -the voice of the Covenant and our Gods- think _negatively_ about you, oh so worthy Fleet-Master." The Prophet hovered closer to Vale.

_I know this _"Then, Holy Prophet, why am I not dead?" Vale clicked his mandibles in question, already knowing the answer.

The Prophet chuckled "Back to the missing Jiralhanae."

_So eager to change the subject? _"Holy Prophet, these Captain Ultras were seen to be close agents of yours," Vale rubbed his lower mandibles "They are missing; and you know why."

"_YOU DARE QUESTION ME -THE HOLY PROPHET OF PITY- IN SUCH A WAY_!" The Prophet screamed.

_Y__our aggressiveness is unneeded _Vale didn't show any false fear in the sight of the Prophets rage -he was quite used to it. Vale did not move -knowing that he was the more civil one.

"They may be your pets, but they are in my fleet so they are my responsibility -as much as it is yours." Vale calmly clicked his mandibles in reply

"It is heresy to question me -the holy Prophet of Pity," The Prophet reminded Vale "_AND YET YOU DO SO! _The Management Of The Jiralhanae _is none of the Sangheili's concern!_"

_Wrong _"When we formed the Covenant, we decided that the Prophets would handle religious affairs while the Sangheili manage military affairs," Vale reminded the Prophet "The fact that you have the Jiralhanae as your personal agents goes against the holy Writ of Union."

The Prophet of Pity seemed shocked by what Vale said _Here we go _"_HERESY! _YOU DARE QUESTION OUR -THE HOLY PROPHETS- HOLY DECISIONS -WHICH ARE THE HOLY DECISIONS OF THE BLESSED _GODS! _YOU COULD FACE EXECUTION FOR _SUCH HERESY_!"

_But I will not face execution, will I? _"If I was to die for my words, I would have long ago," Vale calmly clicked his mandibles in reply to the Prophet's rage "But I am too useful to you -holy Prophet of Pity- and the rest of the holy Prophets. My skills, strategy, tactics, and prowess almost matches that of Thel 'Vadamee."

"Do you wish to _test _that theory, oh so worthy Fleet-Master?" The Prophet asked.

Vale could here the Honor Guards getting ready to charge at Vale if they had to. Vale was treading on dangerous ground -but that was nothing new.

"If that is the holy Prophet of Pity's wish, then I shall participate in all the tests he wishes," Vale knelt in respect "But know that I only question you because if the Covenant was in universal agreement, we would be weaker. As long as we do not act on our disagreements, I do not believe that questioning is wrong -in fact, it should make your trust of me stronger for you know that I will always speak my mind."

"Your mind is twisted," The Prophet of Pity observed "But despite your _i__nconveniences_ you are a worthy walker of the blessed path -that we all walk."

_As such I suspect, you will not execute me _Vale stood up "Then we shall end this farce, holy Prophet of Pity -voice of the Covenant. And focus on current events that are important."

"The oh so Jiralhanae," The Prophet of Pity nodded "I -the holy Prophet of Pity- had means to tell you sooner, but I needed to confirm my grave suspicions first, Fleet-Master."

_What does he speak of? _"Holy Prophet of Pity, please explain." Vale began pacing.

"As you may have heard, there are Covenant soldiers stationed in a nearby Forerunner tower." the Prophet began.

_Are they involved? I believed it to be the Demon _"Yes, holy Prophet," Vale clicked his mandibles in a legal interruption of the Prophet "I mean to speak to them on how they arrived on this holy ring."

"I -the holy Prophet of Pity- made moves before you, Fleet-Master, and sent the two Jiralhanae commune with them; they have not returned." The Prophet explained.

_I did not suspect... _"Heretics." Vale mused; rubbing his lower mandibles.

"Yes," The Prophet nodded "But I -the holy Prophet of Pity- believe that the Oracle that went through the portal earlier may be involved with them -the Heretics."

_An Oracle involved with Heretics? _"Why would and Oracle commune with Heretics?" Vale clicked his mandibles in question at the Prophet.

"I do not know if what I - the holy Prophet of Pity- suspect is true," The Prophet clarified "But the Gods -the holy Forerunners- have warned me -the holy -Prophet of Pity- of a rogue Oracle. _(A rouge Oracle?) _And this Oracle was different from the ones the Gods said will be on the holy rings. I -the holy Prophet of Pity _(I know who you are)_- suspect that the rogue Oracle has poisoned the Heretics minds; making them betray the Covenant."

"So they are turned by the rouge Oracle's lies." Vale mused.

"Yes, worthy Fleet-Master," the Prophet nodded "I -the holy Prophet of Pity- do believe that these Covenant soldiers held up in the tower are Heretics -since they have made no move to commune with us, and the Jiralhanae I -the holy Prophet of Pity- sent to commune with them are missing. I -the holy Prophet of Pity- also believe that they may be sheltering the Demon."

_Sheltering the Demon? _"Their minds are devastated by lies in order to do such heresy." Vale stated.

"It is a sad thing," The Prophet agreed "And I -the holy Prophet of Pity- am afraid that their spots on the Great Journey are lost because of their abandonment of the Covenant."

_How could the Gods leave behind such a venomous Oracle _"What is to be done of the Heretics, holy Prophet of Pity?" Vale clicked his mandibles in question.

"I -the holy Prophet of Pity- advise we quickly wipe them out." The Prophet advised.

_Very well _"So be it, holy Prophet. I shall prepare a force and strike them to quickly end them with honor." Vale informed the Prophet.

"No! worthy Fleet-Master," The Prophet broke in "I -the holy Prophet of Pity- do not wish to inflict such horror as to put Sangheili against each other -not when they were not prepared to. Allow me -the holy Prophet of Pity- to use the oh so worthy Jiralhanae instead."

_C__an they be honorable against these misled Heretics? _"That is a wise choice; I do not wish to do that to the Sangheili brothers so loyal to me and the Great Journey," Vale clicked his mandibles in agreement "But I ask that the Jiralhanae do this cleanly and with honor -the Heretics should not suffer any more than they have to."

The Prophet nodded "I -the holy Prophet of Pity- completely agree. And we see the rogue Oracle again I -the holy Prophet of Pity- shall personally obliterate it for its high heresy."

_Perhaps I was wrong to be so doubtful of the holy Prophet of Pity. But I doubt he can obliterate a Oracle._

Vale bowed in respect "Soon, the Great Journey shall begin. And when it does, I am honored to have -while questionable- Prophets leading us from this doomed existence -as the holy Prophets have promised... so long ago."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was excited to bring Vale Nar 'Sarasee into the picture (He's gonna be a bad-ass)**

**The next Chapter will be long and will have a lot of action in it (Battle time, baby!)**

**Please write-up a small review to tell me what you think, and to point out and Lore or spelling mistakes I might have made (I'm pretty sure I correct all the spelling mistakes when I double-checked the chapter) **

**Thanks to this story's followers: Nightswing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger.**


	7. Chapter Six: The Diverted

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: A reviewer named The Timmynator pointed out some mistakes I did.**

**One: I edited out the part about 098 touching the energy sword's blades because I was getting negative feedback about it. I now put it that 098 grabbed the handle instead.**

**Two: He pointed out that the name I gave the Huragok (Engineer) was inconsistent with what Huragok are actually called. After looking on the Halo wiki I saw what he meant and changed the Huragok's name to "Lighter Than Some" (Hope I got it right this time)**

* * *

**[ CHAPTER SIX: THE DIVERTED ]**

_I sat there... on the field of that planet which name is lost to me._

_Next to me was the girl who I loved most in the world. I forgot her name... something that should not of happened._

_"I'm scared." The young girl -that was just out of her toddler years- stated._

_I knew why, but yet I asked "About what?"_

_The girl -whose name I had forgotten- sat up and looked at me._

_We used to sit out on the __family farm's field every evening. And I enjoyed every second of it; of being near her -for we had a bond stronger than anything in any world._

_"About you going to the big city... without me." She explained._

_"I will be only gone for two days." I reassured her._

_"Why can't I go with you." She began to cry._

_I had been asking myself that question 'Why could she not go with me?' _

_"Don't worry, Nai" I hugged her "Nothing will ever separate us."_

_Oh how I was wrong._

* * *

**September 5, 2555 ****[1326 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Unknown _Sahara_-class heavy Prowler.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

"So that's when _shit started to hit the fan_, right?" West asked while pulling out his Data-pad.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 confirmed with a nod.

"I bet you were '_excited_' to get into combat again." West mused as he used his stylus to type something down onto his Data-pad.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 took a sip out of his water bottle.

"What time did the battle happen?" West questioned while preparing to write the answer down on his Data-pad.

_Allow me to elaborate _"Exact time: unknown. Approximately 1200 hours." 098 elaborated.

"What was happening just before that?" West questioned 098 while he began to sit up straight on his chair.

_Allow me to elaborate _"The Covenant separatists -designated: the Diverted- were holding a meeting." 098 elaborated.

"Were you _invited_?" West questioned.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 nodded.

West finished writing down all 098 just said on his Data-pad "What happened?"

_Allow me to elaborate _"Allow me to elaborate." 098 took a sip of his water.

"Whose POV?" West asked "Yours."

_Negative _"I shall proceed to use the Ultra's POV during the meeting, and proceed to use my POV during the battle." 098 explained.

West narrowed his eyes at 098; he was obviously curious as to how 098 knew so much that he shouldn't have known, but ultimately decided to wait until 098 got to the part about how he knew. 098 hoped that wouldn't be a mistake on his part.

"Go head." West gestured.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." Red nodded.

_I am not Red... nor 098... I am all!_

* * *

**November 5, 2555 ****[1214 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

******Forerunner Anti-Gravity Well Facility, Base Of Forerunner Tower, Unknown Halo Array.**

******Thel 'Lodamee...**

* * *

The small room -in which the Monarch once resided in- was full with all of Thel's men which survived the battle back on the planet that the Demon believed was "_Atmosus_"

Out of the 300 Unggoy, 70 Kig-Yar, and 28 Sangheili: only 27 -26 now since one died just last night- Unggoy, 9 Kig-Yar, and 16 Sangheili -4 of which killed themselves in the Monarch's installation after hearing the truth- had survived the battle.

All of the "Diverted" were in the room with the Sentinels keeping guard over the compound.

Thel had tested a theory he had which proved that the Sentinels were not being controlled by the Monarch -wherever it is- But the Sentinels did, however, obey whatever the Demon told them to do.

The Demon was also in the room; which, of course, caused some unease. it was located in the corner to the left of the mainframe -or "Parisadal"- the Monarch was hooked up to -minding its own business.

The Demon seemed to be better after healing its wounds. And it was also acting better -as it no longer watched every move of every Sangheili, Unggoy, or Kig-Yar it saw.

Thel did have one problem with the Demon, though. And that was that it refused to sleep in the compound the previous night. Thel decided he had to make an exception: and gave the Demon the room the Monarch's Parisadal was in -with two Sentinels guarding the doors to the room -for its safekeeping.

Thel also heard that some of his Sangheili still worshiped the Forerunners -even though they were not Gods- and in turned, laid down their swords for the Demon. Thel hoped that their loyalty in the Demon would not overcome the loyalty they had for him.

Thel was seated on his makeshift throne -which he had made out of wood and branches- and was overlooking the gathering. Everyone was here except the Huragok -"Lighter Than Some" _Must be tinkering with the terminals in the compound._

Urse and Anve were to Thel's side -as they always were. And Rek 'Galravee was standing by the ramp that led up to the evaluated platform Thel was on.

Once things had quiet down, Thel twitched his mandibles as he began "Brothers, but a devastating time is upon us. _(I shall start with the Huragok) _As you know, a Huragok is with us. I have recently been informed by the Monarch that the Huragoks are _creations_ of the Forerunners."

Thel stopped speaking so the crowd -mainly the Sangheili- could let out their roars of shock and anger.

_I believe this to be a mistake by the Prophets other than a lie _"I do not believe this to be a lie by the Prophets," Thel continued "I believe that they too did not know of the Huragok's origins. A mistake they shall pay for!"

The small crowd -even the Unggoy and Kig-Yar- erupted in roars, barks, and screeches of approval.

_I wonder if they really are loyal to me? Speaking of which... _"Now, to the second matter at hand," Thel continued "It is no mistake for me to believe that some of you Unggoy and Kig-Yar would wish to abandon the Diverted and retreat back to the Covenant."

The Unggoy and Kig-Yar all looked at each other in confusion and suspicion _I shall make sure none of them shall leave us _"If you do leave," Thel continued "the damn Prophet of Pity will _notice _you, and _kill_ you in order to keep his pathetic secret from being known _(They may think they are strong by executing those who pose a threat to them. But they are not)_ As much as you may dislike it, the Diverted are your best chance of survival."

The Kig-Yar and Unggoy all knelt in respect _So they are loyal -for now._

"Third matter," Thel twitched his mandibles in annoyance to the upcoming topic as he continued "I understand that a brother Unggoy lost his life last night. I understand why. And I know this may increase the desires to rejoin the Covenant."

The small creature died of starvation when it refused to eat the food that was offered _Feeding them off of those damn food nipples swayed them from wanting to eat anything else. Even when their lives depended on it._

"There is nothing I can do to save the Unggoy that refuse to eat" Thel announced _The Unggoy are stubborn as they are weak_ "I ask that you eat what is offered if you want to survive."

The Unggoy in the room let out annoyed moans, but didn't argue further.

"Forth matter," Thel continued "You may have noticed the Monarch is no longer with us. I will explain why," Thel stood up to stretch his legs "We have little hope of leaving this ring without a ship. And walking through that portal is not an option _(Here comes the plan)_ So the Monarch went through the portal to ask one of the Human ships -still in orbit on Human control space around the planet- for assistance. The Sentinel on the other-side of the portal gave the Monarch the theory that the ship he planned on asking for assistance would take 2 weeks to arrive here."

"The Covenant fleet arrived in less than a day." One of the Sangheili named Jol 'Turasee observed.

_So that means this Halo has to be close to the system we were in _"Yes," Thel nodded "And the rest of the fleet will no doubt arrive after they finishing glassing the planet on the other-side of the portal, and arrive here before the Human ship comes to assist us -if it does at all."

"How do you know that this is not the full fleet?" Another Sangheili named Lek 'Turasee clicked his mandibles in question at Thel.

_That is right. They do not know yet _"I forgot to inform you: the planet on the other-side of the portal is in the same system as the planet we met the Monarch on," Thel clicked his mandibles in explanation "And the fleet is that of Vale Nar 'Sarasee."

"That makes trying to commune with him a lot more easier." Lek remarked.

_This topic does not matter at this time _"I already have attempted to commune with him. And I will explain that soon," Thel told the crowd "At the moment, we need to speak on how the Human ship will reach us."

The Demon took its cue to leave the corner it was in _I hope it can give us a helpful insight_ "What type of ship is the one the Monarch means to contact?" Thel clicked his mandibles in question at the Demon.

"Possibility of it being a Charon-Class Light Frigate: 80 Percent," It replied "Length: 489 Meters. Height: 139 Meters. _(These things do not matter)_ Width: 155 Met-"

"Enough!" Thel snapped his mandibles; annoyed at the Demons extensive explanation "All I need to know is can it evade the Covenant ships and get to us before being destroyed?"

"Affirmative." it nodded in confirmation.

"It is probably one of those little ships that keep doing those damn hit-and-run tactics." Rek remarked; clicking his mandibles in annoyance _If so, then we may be in luck._

"Frigates." The Demon nodded.

Rek rubbed his mandibles "Easy to destroy, but harder to hit."

_Just what we need _"Yes. Hopefully it can get in, get us, then get out," Thel sat back down "And hopefully the Monarch will get its jump coordinates correct; so they will arrive inside the rings atmosphere."

"If not, brother?" Another Sangheili named Freyn 'Okranee clicked his mandibles in question at Thel.

_Then we are in trouble _"Then there is a bigger chance of the Human ship not getting to us without being destroyed." Thel clicked his mandible in explanation.

"It will be fine anyway, brother. Vale is sending the CCS-class battlecruisers and SDV-Class Heavy Corvettes to scout the ring. So we should not have to worry about ship-to-ship contact." Rek reassured.

_There is the rest of the Fleet-Master's fleet _"There is the rest of the _Second Fleet of Divine Trinity._" Thel clicked his mandibles to remind Rek.

"There is little reason for all of the fleet to be clustered in one place." Rek reminded Thel.

_We are wasting time on a topic that is not relevant at the current time _"This is a debate for another day, brother. Though you are right, it matters not at the moment." Thel waved his hand; telling the Demon it was no longer needed.

_Now comes the final and most horrific part _"Fifth matter," Thel continued "The day before this one I attempted to infiltrate the Covenant base -hence why I was not present. I had a plan to avoid Pity and get to the Fleet-Master undetected. This did not work for I was spotted by two Jiralhanae Captain Ultras, and escorted to the _bastard_ San 'Shyuum's quarters."

Thel took a breath through his helmet _I hate being the barer of bad news_ "There I confirmed that the Prophets know of the Humans being the Reclaimers."

The crowed started to murmur with Rek holding his hand out to tell them to be silent.

_This shall make the room sing of the sounds of rage _"I found out another shocking thing," Thel continued "I cannot confirm this; but I believe the Prophets are planning on _replacing_ the Sangheili with the Jiralhanae -_by force._"

The Sangheili and a number of Unggoy and Kig-Yar erupted in roars of rage and anger.

"I believe the Jiralhanae are aware of this," Thel continued "And as such, I feel it is only logical to adopt the Human slang word for them -"_Brutes_"."

The crowed roared their approval "I always hate hairy beasts." Thel heard an Unggoy bark out with his comrades barking in approval.

Rek held his hand out to calm the crowd down "And as such," Thel continued "We no longer need to leave this ring to end a needless war. But to stop the possible destruction of our race."

The crowd roared their approval.

_I know what need to be done _Thel stood up "The last time I entered the base, I tried to remain silent. Not this time. It is unknown what lies the Prophet has told the Fleet-Master in order to explain our presence. But I do know that he may still trust me. I mean to take a large risk -one we attempted to avoid- and barge into the base demanding to speak with the Fleet-Master."

The crowd let out worried murmurs _I do not expect I will make it back_ "If I do not make it back," Thel continued "Rek will take command."

Rek turned around to face Thel; he had shock on his face as he walked up the ramp towards Thel.

"Brother," he clicked his mandibles as he knelt before Thel "I am unworthy to take the position of one so strong-willed as to risk his life so valiantly."

_You are more than worthy _Thel was about to reply when the doors hissed opened and a Sentinel floated in. Thel instantly knew there was trouble since he had the Demon order the Sentinels to not come in unless something was happening.

Thel quickly hurried down the ramp and out the room with the rest of the Diverted right behind him -he could also hear the loud metal thudding of the Demon following as well.

The door at the other end of the two-way hallway opened to the Huragok quickly floating in. It passed the group and Thel noticed that it was letting out scared cries _Something is not right. Something is wrong._

They quickly exited the anti-gravity well facility to reveal at least 8 Type-52 troop carriers flying towards the tower.

"Phantoms!" Rek exclaimed.

"The bastard Pity must have lied a great deal in order for him to strike us." Thel growled through his gritted mandibles.

It was not just the Phantoms: 4 of the Phantoms were carrying a Wraith while the other 4 were carrying two Ghosts each. There was also two Banshees escorting each Phantom -making up to 16 Banshees, which posed a big problem.

Thel noticed the Sentinels were moving up to the walls_ They could provide tactical assistance _Thel quickly realized that the Sentinels could reinforce energy shields and stun enemies. Since the Monarch only had 6 Sentinels, it was limited as to what they could do.

Thel turned around to see the Demon in the middle of the crowd. The Demons were bigger than most Humans. But Sangheili stood taller which made it harder to see the Demon

"Demon," Thel called out "tell the Sentinels to have one of them reinforce my shields while another three reinforce the shields of other Sangheili in need. And have the other two provide support with their stunners and lasers."

The Demon nodded and walked out of the crowd and up to a Unggoy _What does it want._

"Give me your Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol." The Demon said as it held out a hand towards the Unggoy _Of course! It will need the overcharge to disable the Ghosts and Wraiths_

The Unggoy looked as if he was about to faint. But he nevertheless reached for his holstered plasma pistol and handed it to the Demon.

The Demon grabbed its small rapid fire rifle and tossed it aside before taking and holstering the plasma pistol.

Knowing the small creature would not stand a chance without a weapon, Thel went over to it, grabbed his plasma rifle off of his right thigh, and handed it to the Unggoy as the Demon began sprinting towards the walls "Take it." Thel told the Unggoy.

The Unggoy nervously nodded in reply and took the plasma rifle.

Once the Unggoy took the weapon, Thel took a step back so he was not so close to his men, and began "Those with carbines and pulse rifles will take position in the towers with 4 Unggoy in each tower to provide supporting fire. The rest will take position on the walls. If any Sangheili need their shields reinforced, call for a Sentinel. Make sure you keep your head low, and take cover when the Wraiths fire; also kill all those -but Brutes- with honor and mercy. And make sure you kill the Brutes with as much anger as possible. Now, move out!"

Thel turned back around and sprinted for the wall where the Demon was already shooting at gunners on the Phantoms; with his men right behind him.

"Support the Demon as best you can," Thel told his men as he approached the access ramps to the walls "I have seen Demons in combat, and it is the best chance we have against the Wraiths and Banshees."

Thel quickly grabbed his carbine from his back and practically jumped up the ramp and onto the walls.

"Stand fast, brothers," Thel told his men with a snap of his mandibles as he came to a halt on top of the walls and aimed his carbine at the approaching Phantoms "For those blinded by the pathetic Prophet's lies seek to act on actions that will bring about the end of everything."

The Diverted let out roars, screeches, and barks of approval while Thel just stood there; watching the approaching enemy through the Carbines scope with the sounds of his comrades battle cries in his mind.

After a few seconds, Thel spotted an exposed Unggoy on the Phantom's bay turrets, and shot his carbine...

* * *

**Red-098...**

* * *

The sound of a carbine shot rung across the compound. Wondering who shot, 098 turned to see the Ultra shoot another round at one of the Phantoms.

098 quickly turned his head back around and began firing at exposed Unggoy on the Phantom's side guns.

Two shots left 098's DMR -with the first missing the Unggoy Minor by mere inches, and the second going straight through its throat with a mist of bright blue blood appearing as the dead Grunt fell out of the Phantom.

_Contact eliminated _"Contact on left side of the 5th Phantom from the right: eliminated." 098 reported.

Of course 098 and the "Diverted" didn't communicate over a COM channel. So 098 just had to hope that they heard him. Another thing that provided a risk in battle was 098 accidentally shooting at the Covenant soldiers that he was allied with. To fix this, the Monarch assisted 098 in marking all the Diverted Covenant as friendly on his IFF.

"Contact on the left side of the 4th Phantom from the right: eliminated." 098 reported as a Grunt Major tumbled out of the Phantom.

Every Grunt on a turret that 098 killed, another quickly took its place. But that was not 098's concern. His concern was to the right where a Banshee was bearing in on the perimeter walls at full speed.

_Possible effective strategy _098 quickly slung his DMR over his back and drew the plasma pistol he took from a Grunt.

With the plasma pistol in hand, 098 expected the Banshee to disengaged from its attack run -but it didn't. But this proved useful for what 098 knew he had to do. He charged up the plasma pistol, waited for his reticle to turn red, and fired.

The Banshee attempted to spin out-of-the-way but the energy bolt tracked it and hit it with no problem.

The Banshee immediately lost power and went flying towards the walls. 098 took the chance he had hoped for, quickly holstered his pistol, and used all of his force to leap onto the descending Banshee.

098 quickly grabbed the Banshee's right wing, and climbed to the cockpit as the Banshee regained its power. Of course, the pilot knew 098 was there and began spinning the Banshee around to try to get him off.

It would be no use, though, for 098 already reached cockpit and began forcing the Banshee's cockpit door open.

It was hard to do but 098 eventually lifted the cockpit's door up to show a Brute Major was the pilot. And due to the Banshee's small size, the Brute had no room to move and 098 just grabbed it by its foot and pulled it out.

"I shall kill you, Demon!" The Brute roared.

The Brute -of course- attempted to grab 098 and take him with it as it fell. But 098 predicted this and quickly drew his combat knife that was sheathed on his shoulder, and stabbed it into the Brute's head as soon as it was visible; the knife went straight into the Brute's thick skull, and it died immediately without even a grunt.

_Contact eliminated _098 let the Brute fall and quickly jumped into the cockpit of the now falling Banshee; but luckily before the Banshee hit the ground or PONR, 098 took control and pulled it up back into the air.

With the Banshee now in his control, 098 quickly descended towards the Phantoms.

Unfortunately the Phantoms were already dropping off soldiers which meant 098 couldn't focus on them without getting shot out of the air. And the chances of 098 getting shot out of the air was high for he spotted a number of Covenant soldiers wielding anti-air weaponry -Fuel rod cannons, plasma launchers, Brute shots, concussion rifles, and plasma pistols.

098 knew that with all of the anti-air weaponry, and the support of Ghosts and Banshees, he didn't have a lot of time in the Banshee before he would have to abandon it.

_Engaging ground forces is mandatory for survival _098 decided that he would engage the ground units.

098 quickly shot at a squad of Covenant soldiers; with the plasma ripping through the flesh of a Brute Captain and eliminating it quickly while also eliminating two Grunt Majors, a Grunt Heavy, and a Jackal Minor while also wounding a Brute Minor via the plasma rounds burning off one of its leg.

_Contacts eliminated. Count: 5._

There were still soldiers from the squad alive. But 098 quickly got rid of the problem when he shot a Plasma torpedo into the squad which eliminated the wounded Brute, another Jackal Minor, two Grunt Minors, along with a Grunt Ultra.  
_Contacts eliminated. Count: 4. Squad eliminated._

With the squad eliminated, 098 maneuvered to another one -which was now splitting up.

_Multiple choices of engagement _098 decided to shoot at a Grunt Major and Minor that were split from the group; he eliminated them easily

_Contacts eliminated. Count: 2._

098 then spun the Banshee to the right and began shooting at a Brute Major who was covering a Grunt Ultra and a Grunt Heavy; with the plasma rounds shredding the unguarded Brute's flesh easily

_Contact eliminated._

While 098 was focused on the Brute, the Grunt Heavy managed to fire a rod from its fuel rod cannon -which 098 had to quickly maneuver out-of-the-way. Thankfully, 098 successfully dodged the rod and began shooting at the Grunt Heavy which he realized he should have eliminated earlier

_Contact eliminated._

The last Grunt Ultra threw a plasma grenade which missed the Banshee by mere inches. But as soon as the plasma grenade was out-of-the-way, 098 quickly eliminated the Ultra.

_Contact eliminated. Rate of elimination: slow _098 realized that he wasn't eliminating enough hostiles. And that the Banshee was too big of a target, and it posed a possible threat if he continued to use it.

_Further use of Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft: Ineffective. Dismounting of __Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft priority one _With that figured out, 098 spun the Banshee around -now facing a new squad of Covenant solders that came out of the Phantom- and flew at full speed towards them.

When the Banshee was close enough that it would continue to race forward without being accelerated, 098 bailed.

098 hit the ground hard and did a combat roll to decrease the impact. But thankfully, with the Hydrostatic Gel the impact of hitting the ground did not faze 098 as he leaped up from the combat roll and drew his DMR as the Banshee crashed into the squad of Covenant soldiers.

_Contacts eliminated. Count: Unknown _As soon as his DMR was in his hands, 098 charged at a nearby Jackal Major that had some shrapnel from the explosion in its chest.

With the shrapnel in its chest, it didn't even see 098 when he charged up to it, grabbed its neck, and increased his grip until he heard a snap.

_Contact eliminated _When the Jackal was dead, 098 kicked its body out-of-the-way and aimed his DMR at a group of three Grunts that were turning to flee. 098 shot three rounds with one hitting each Grunt in the head.

_Contacts eliminated. Count: 3._

The sound of a Wraith's mortar firing a plasma ball towards the wall made 098 realized that he was exposed.

_Possibility of elimination from exposure: 100 percent _Knowing that he was in danger from being in the open: 098 sprinted for the walls and jumped and grabbed the ledge where he was helped up onto the walls by two nearby Jackal Minors.

098 accepted their assistance and got back up onto the perimeter walls were he noticed a dead Elite Minor with a Brute Spiker projectile in its head and neck, along with a Grunt Ultra that had a large burn mark in its chest that suggested it was shot by a plasma round.

_Friendlies down. Count: 2 _098 ignored the deceased and turned back to face the oncoming Covenant forces.

Upon examination, 098 realized that he did a large amount of damage to the Covenant squads. There were still overwhelming enemy forces, but they were slightly crippled because of 098.

Not wasting anymore time on observation, 098 quickly raised his DMR at an incoming Covenant squad that was making its way towards the front perimeter wall.

098 aimed his DMR at a Brute Minor, and fired a shot. The shot hit the Brute in the forehead -but did not kill it. It did stun it, though.

With the Brute now staggering from taking a bullet to the head, 098 shot another round which blasted the Brute's head open with a mist of purple blood and brain scattering across the ground and its allies.

_Contact eliminated _"Brute Minor eliminated." 098 reported.

One Jackal Minor got some blood from the Brute Minor in its eyes and dropped its carbine to try to clean them out. 098 took this chance and shot a round into the Jackal's neck with a squirt of purple blood coming out of its wound and mouth.

_Contact eliminated _"Jackal Minor eliminated." 098 reported.

A Wraith's mortar fired which sent a ball of plasma that hit the wall and sent a Grunt -that was too close- flying _Friendly down. Count: 1._

Three more rounds fired from his DMR ended the lives of 3 Grunts.

_Contacts eliminated. Count: 3._

With his ammo clip running low, 098 took cover behind a railing on the wall, took out his near empty clip, put the empty clip into his reserve pouch, and grabbed another full clip out of his ammo pouch and slammed it into his DMR.

098 heard an Elite roar in pain, and looked over to see one of the Ultra's Minors -that always guarded the Ultra- was being hit by needler projectiles.

A Sentinel quickly floated over to try and reinforce its shields -but it was too late.

"Brother!" The Ultra snapped its hidden mandibles in shock as the Minor threw itself off of the walls and into a squad of Covenant soldiers; the squad attempted to flee as the Minor landed with a loud thump, but it was too late as the the needler projectiles in him exploded along with the Minor itself a second after it hit the ground -which eliminated a large amount of the squad.

_Friendly down. Count: 1. Contacts eliminated. Count: 4 _098 didn't waste any time, and rose out of cover and finished off the Covenant squad -eliminating a Brute Ultra Captain that was missing both of its legs, a Grunt Ultra that was missing its left arm, and a Jackal and Grunt Major.

_Contacts eliminated. Count: 4._

"You will be remembered, brother." 098 heard an Elite Minor next to him sadly clicked its mandibles to what remained of the dead Minor.

A Wraith firing another plasma round from its mortar bought 098's attention to the plasma ball as it hit Rek dead on which sent the Major flying with its entrails slinging out of his mangled stomach.

_Friendly down. Count 1. Elimination of Wraiths is mandatory _"Direct the fire of all those equipped with long-range weapons to engage the Wraith gunners." 098 told the Elite Minor before slinging his DMR over his back, drawing his plasma pistol and M6D, and leaping from the walls.

But instead of landing on the ground, 098 land on a Brute's head -snapping its neck as he somersaulted off of the Brute's head, and shooting two screaming Grunt Minors and a Jackal while he was in midair before landing on the ground.

_Contacts eliminated. Count: 4._

Before 098 could enter a sprint, two Banshees began shooting at him.

Without wasting time, 098 dodged out-of-the-way, charged up his plasma pistol, and fired -sending an energy bolt into the left Banshee.

Before 098 could take down the second Banshee, a Ghost attempted to ram him; but failed when 098 jumped over it, turned in midair while drawing his combat knife, and landed on the Ghost's rear.

The Brute Ultra turned and barked in surprise as it watched 098 stab it in the eye. And once it was dead, 098 pulled his combat knife out and sheathed it, before pushing the Brute Ultra out of the seat before taking control.

098 shifted the Ghost into full speed, and rammed a Brute Captain which sent it flying into the perimeter wall. And as soon as the Brute hit the wall, 098 turned the Ghost around and fired the Ghost's plasma turrets -cutting down two Jackals and a Grunt.

_Contacts eliminated. Count: 4 _098 then heard the familiar sound of a plasma torpedo being launched from a Banshee, and quickly jumped out of the Ghost as it exploded into blue flames and shrapnel.

Unfortunately, a bit of shrapnel went flying into 098's back, which in turn sent him flying a few feet. Thankfully, the impact of the shrapnel hitting him was not as bad as it could have been because of the Hydrostatic Gel in his armor.

098 still landed with a thud. And was momentarily stunned by the shrapnel piercing his armor and flesh. But before 098 could get up, a Brute grabbed him by the neck, roared into his helmet's visor, and -foolishly- threw him a few feet to the right.

098 spun as he flew and landed in a combat roll before turning around and shooting the Brute in the head with his M6D -leaving a large, purple hole that went right through its head.

Another Banshee launched another plasma torpedo; which 098 easily dodged before pulling the shrapnel out of his back, throwing it into a nearby screeching Jackal's head before he turned and entered a sprint towards a Wraith.

The Wraith spotted him coming, and attempted to ram 098. This proved to be no use since 098 already predicted this, and somersaulted into the air, spinning around in midair, and landing on the Wraith's rear.

098 pulled out a frag grenade and smashed it into the Wraith before somersaulting off of the Wraith and landing in a combat roll just as the Wraith exploded.

_Contact eliminated._

Another Banshee began shooting its turrets at 098, and he had to quickly take cover behind the Wraith's burning wreckage.

"DEMON!" 098 heard the Ultra roar across the battleground "BEHIND YOU!"

098 turned to see two Scarabs crawling over the distant cliffs _Type-47 Ultra Heavy Assault Platform: Role: h_eavy _assault vehicle, mobile command post, mining platform. __Length: 48 meters. __Width: 48 meters. __Height: 38 meters. __Known armaments: Plasma beam, 1 anti-aircraft turret, 3 Type-52 Directed Energy Support Weapons. Threat Level: High. Evasion mandatory._

098 knew what he had to do, and raised his plasma pistol at the approaching Banshee -and fired.

The plasma bolt hit the Banshee, and sent it flying towards 098, but failed to hit him when he dodged out of the way, and leaped back onto the Banshee -grabbing its wing.

The Brute inside the Banshee knew it wouldn't be able to shake 098 off. So it dismounted its Banshee and attempted to grab 098 off of the wing. But as the Brute grabbed 098 by his shoulder, the SPARTAN grabs his combat knife and slice the Brute -slitting its throat.

The Brute gurgled blood as it fell to the ground, bleeding out.

_Contact eliminated _098 sheathed his combat knife, and crawled into the Banshee's cockpit where he took control and piloted it towards the compound's front perimeter wall.

A Banshee was pursuing 098. But was disabled by a Diverted Grunt's plasma bolt as 098 flew his Banshee over the perimeter walls, and landed the Banshee on the path that led to the door of the floating tower's anti-gravity well facility.

098 dismounted the Banshee and noticed a Diverted Jackal Major that was missing both its legs, and had a large hole in its stomach that revealed its intestines.

The Jackal -that was still alive- held its hand out as if asking 098 for help.

_Survival probability: 0 percent _098 raised his M6D towards the Jackal -that was now screeching for him not to kill it- and fired.

"Ultra!" 098 called out as he holstered his M6D "I need an Elite that knows how to commander a Type-52 Troop Carrier."

The Ultra turned to face 098 "Anve, go with him."

"Yes, brother." Anve complied as it hurried down the ramp and toward 098.

"Hold tight." 098 told the Anve as he tossed it his plasma pistol and got back into the Banshee.

"Do not knock me off." The Elite quietly clicked its mandibles as it grabbed the Banshees right wing and placed its hoofs between the wing's lower area to stabilize itself.

Fortunately for the Diverted and 098, the Phantoms continued to come in and drop Covenant soldiers off.

_EVAC __vehicle accessible. Moving to engage _098 immediately piloted the Banshee out of the compound and towards one of the Phantom that were entering the battlefields airspace.

"Stay straight. A Banshee is on us!" Anve warned 098 as the he heard the Elite charge up its plasma pistol that 098 gave to it.

The Phantom's -that 098's Banshee was approaching- side turret gunners began shooting at 098's Banshee. But quickly stopped when the Grunts were sniped by Diverted Elites.

"The Banshee is disabled!" Anve reported as 098 flew over the top of the Phantom and began to hover over it.

"Dismount!" 098 told the Elite as he opened the cockpits doors and dropped down onto the Phantom's roof.

"Now what?" Anve asked as he landed next to 098.

Another Banshee came by and attempted to shoot them off.

"Damn!" Anve exclaimed as it raised its plasma pistol, charged it, and fired it at the Banshee -disabling it.

098 quickly went to the side of the moving Phantom, and dropped down onto the bay's open doors -which provided a platform for 098 to land on.

The Phantom was full of Brutes, Jackals, and Grunts; and 098 wasted no time in opening fire.

Of course the Grunts screamed in terror as 098's M6D rounds went into various Covenant soldier's heads. and chests.

098 heard Anve grunt as it landed next to him, and immediately activated its energy sword and charged in.

The Covenant soldiers must not of know that 098 and Anve were on top of the Phantom for they both took them by surprise and killed the entire load before they could react with their weapons.

Anve roared in rage as it cut down Brutes, Jackals, and Grunts with its energy sword "BURN, YOU TRAITOROUS BASTARDS!"

098 put a bullet into the skull of a Brute Minor that was attempting to flank Anve before he charged into the Phantoms cockpits.

The Phantom's co-pilot heard the commotion and was exiting the cockpit when 098 appeared in the doorway and kicked the Brute down the ramp that connected the Cockpit to the Bay.

"What the!" The Brute Pilot barked in shock as it turned out of its seat to see 098 put a round into the co-pilot's head before raising his M6D at the pilot and shooting two rounds into its skull -spilling purple blood and brain matter all over the controls.

"That felt good." Anve remarked as it came up behind 098 and followed him down to the controls.

"Get the Diverted. I will deal with the Wraiths." 098 told Anve as he turned and made his way back into the bay.

"There are a number of plasma launcher you can utilize." Anve told 098.

_Assistance is irrelevant _"I proceeded to have knowledge of this." 098 replied as he kicked a Grunt Heavy off of a plasma launcher.

"So blunt." Anve observed as 098 picked up the plasma launcher and moved to the bay doors.

"Raise the bay doors." 098 told Anve.

Phantoms always had a gap in the bay doors so the bay turrets could fire while the load was in cover, and 098 proceeded to kick the right bay door turret out-of-the-way, and take up a crouch position.

098 saw that the two Scarabs were getting closer with a third coming over the cliffs. But that was not 098's concern at the moment. His concern was currently directed at the Wraiths that were still bombarding the compound.

"Demon, I am in the compound and activating the gravity lift. Do not worry if a Unggoy of Kig-Yar appears behind you." Anve told 098 as he charged up the plasma launcher, and shot 4 plasma balls at a Wraith.

"Acknowledged." 098 replied as the Wraith blew up.

_Contact eliminated._

A Banshee began to shoot at 098's position as the Wraith blew up. And 098 shifted his attention to the Banshee.

"GET UP THERE!" 098 heard the Ultra roar from below the Phantom as he charged up and fired the plasma launcher again -with three of the plasma balls hitting the Banshee while the forth went towards a squad of Covenant soldiers -killing two Grunts and a Jackal.

_Contacts eliminated. Count: 4._

"Please make room so I can assist you, Reclaimer." 098 heard an Elite Minor say. 098 immediately complied and made room so the Elite -that was wielding another plasma launcher- could assist him in covering the Phantom.

"Taking the left Wraith." the Minor told 098 as it charged its plasma launcher and fired out four plasma balls.

"We are all in!" The Ultra roared as 098 heard it run into the cockpit "Get us out of here!"

"What of the Monarch?!" An Elite Minor asked as 098 heard it run towards the cockpit.

"He will be able to track its Sentinels when it arrives back into the system." The Ultra reassured.

098 turned his head to see that 4 of the six Sentinels made it. He was also relieved to see that Lighter had made it as well. But the number of the Diverted Covenant were dwindling with just 7 Grunts, 2 Jackals, and 3 Elites -not including the Ultra and Anve- left.

There was also no seriously wound Diverted soldiers which must have meant that they put down those who were too badly wounded.

098 quickly turned his attention back to the battlefield that was getting distant. The rest of the Banshee escorts were pursuing the Phantom; a few Phantoms were also pursuing them.

098 charged up his plasma launcher and fired two plasma balls at one of the Banshees before firing the other two at a second Banshee.

"Will we ever lose them?!" The Minor assisting 098 clicked its mandibles in irritation.

"Make room." Another Minor told the two as it -and the only other Elite that survived- came up to assist them with a plasma launcher and fuel rod cannon.

"We have the turrets working!" Anve announced as 098 spotted purple explosive rounds heading towards the pursing Banshees and Phantoms.

098 quickly grabbed two EMP grenades and tossed them out of the bay doors. They luckily took three Banshees down when they detonated.

"Keep it up," A Minor clicked its mandibles in encouragement as it shot 4 plasma balls out of the Phantom "The Banshees are nearly all gone. Switch to the Phantoms while I deal with what remains of the Banshees."

_Affirmative _"Affirmative," 098 complied as he shifted fire to the 3 Phantoms that were following them _Engagement of plasma auto-cannon is mandatory_ "Engaging the Heavy plasma auto-cannon is priority one."

"What did it say?" One of the Minors asked.

"It said destroy the damn cannons on the Phantoms, first." Another Minor clicked its mandibles in clarification.

It took a matter of seconds for the turrets on the Phantoms to be destroyed. But it would take much longer to destroy the Phantoms; but to their surprise, they didn't need to wait long.

"Sentinels. Hundreds of them." One of the Minors pointed out as it happily clicked its mandibles; and 098 saw a Sentinel swarm started attacking the Phantoms with their lasers.

_Disengage _"Disengage." 098 told the Elites while lowering the plasma launcher he was using.

"Is it the Oracle of this Halo?" One of the Minors clicked its mandibles in question.

_Possibility: 95 percent._

"They are not the Monarchs." Another Minor observed; rubbing its lower mandibles.

The 3 Phantoms were easily destroyed by the large swarm of Sentinels. But once the Phantoms were destroyed, the Sentinels retreated back towards the mountains in the distance; with a few staying around to escort the Phantom 098 and the Diverted were in.

"Demon! Get in here!" 098 heard the Ultra order him from the cockpit.

_Affirmative._

098 got up and passed his plasma launcher to one of the Elite Minors as he made his way the cockpit.

098 still didn't know the name of each Diverted soldier; he so far only marked them as ally on his IFF. And he didn't go into the length of inputting all of their names. He was only able to pick out the Ultra and Rek because of their armor.

"Baddies gone?" A Grunt Minor that was sitting in the corner to the left of the cockpits entrance asked.

_Affirmative _098 didn't want to talk to the Grunt and just nodded in reply.

The Grunt let out a sigh of relief as 098 walked down the ramp into the small cockpit.

"You require my assistance?." 098 asked the Ultra as he approached it and Anve at the Phantom's controls.

"Which way are the Sentinels going?" The Ultra clicked its hidden mandibles in question at 0980.

_Allow me to elaborate _"Towards the eastern mountains." 098 replied.

"Then we shall go that way," The Ultra announced "Hopefully we will find the Monitor of this installation there."

"Do you require further assistance?" 098 asked.

The Ultra let out a sigh from beneath its full helm "Yes."

098 turned to exit the cockpit when the Ultra called after him "Demon."

098 turned around to face the Ultra that still hadn't turned its attention away from the Phantom's controls "Yes?" 098 asked.

"You fought well today," The Ultra told him "You have my respect."

_Irrelevant _"Respect is irrelevant." 098 stated as he continued out of the cockpit.

"How very tormented." 098 heard the Ultra lightly click its mandibles in a mutter.

098 knew the Elites would never understand him. And he had no care of them understanding him. But it annoyed him how the Elites noticed that he was _not quite Human_. But 098 wasn't Human -much to evidence against it.

098 knew what was required of him after he became old enough to understand. And unlike the other SPARTANs, he did not attempt to keep his Humanity. He embraced being trained like a machine -which greatly worried Dr. Halsey and CPO Mendez.

At first Halsey didn't believe 098 when he came to her and told her that he didn't want to be treated like a Human anymore -for she just thought it was just some negative reaction to the training 098 was doing at such a young age.

This, however, proved to be one of those rare times that Halsey was wrong.

098 proved that he had no Human emotions -in a violent way.

Breaking into the armory and stealing a M6 Pistol was easy, breaking out of the base was not so easy, surviving until he came across a city was harder. But once 098 found a city, he knew what he had to do.

Determined to show Halsey that he was not a boy, and that he was emotionless, he found a nearby pet store, and murdered everything there -animal, or Human.

The amount that ONI had to go through to fix what 098 did was extremely large. And the amount of beating 098 received from CPO Mendez was also extreme -but 098 found it worth it. The other SPARTANs refused to let 098 interact with them; making 098 become an outcast for a large amount of time.

But Halsey never thought of 098 as a boy again -but more of a monster. 098 only did it to spite her, anyway. She took away everything he ever cared about, and wanted to make him a machine, but also wanted him to maintain his Human side.

098 proved that not even the great and powerful Halsey could have everything her way.

_I was so weak..._

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Finally got some action into the story!**

**Thanks again to all those who have read this far. And I ask that you leave a review telling me what you think as-well as pointing out any typos or lore mistakes I made.**

**I want to apologize if you found 098's lack of thought during the battle to be annoying. This is because of the personality of 098. He doesn't think of anything other than the important stuff.**

**Thanks to this story's followers: Nightswing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger. *AND SPECIAL THANKS TO THE TIMMYNATOR!***


	8. Chapter Seven: Chieftain

**[ CHAPTER SEVEN: CHIEFTAIN ]**

* * *

[RECORD: [Dr. Catherine. E . Halsey: SN: CC-409871] No. 0173 [2519: 27, 09, 0924, 13s]

[TOPIC: Sierra: Red-098]

[SITUATION: BRAVO 5]

[CLASSIFIED: ALPHA ONE: ONI-SEC-PRTCL-1A]

[RECORD: BEGIN]

_I underestimated Red's determination..._

_I have previously recorded my thoughts on Red's "Feelings"... but never did I believe I would have to take them seriously._

_Red has proven to be violent when he wants to be. Two weeks ago, Red broke into the base's armory, and stole a M6C Personal Defense Weapon System. _

_After Red stole the pistol, he used non-lethal force to break out of the base._

_He managed to knock out five guards during his escape - none of them have serious wounds._

_It surprised me to learn that the SPARTANS - or possibly just Red - could utilize their physical combat abilities so soon in their training._

_Red broke out of the base, and survived in the wilderness for one and a half weeks before he came across the small city of Tez. _

_Once Red arrived at Tez... well, I'm not quite sure of his intentions._

_What I do know, is that Red arrived at a small pet store and proceeded to kill everything there._

_Fortunately, it was late at night when he attacked the pet store._

_Red only killed the store owner, his family, and some friends that were over, as well as every animal in the store._

_This helped to some extent. And thankfully there were no civilian witness's, and the details of what happened weren't released to the public before I got on top of it._

_Still, the amount I had to go through to get Red back makes me not pity Red for the punishment Mendez is giving him. And the punishment is bad. When I saw Red earlier today, I could hardly recognize his face._

_So far talking to Red has proved... ineffective. And he only speaks to me when I order him to - asking him questions, simply won't do._

_He is mad at me, of course. And I believe __he did this atrocity to prove something to me..._

_I believe he did this to spite me... It definitely makes sense._

_I admit... I wanted to keep the SPARTAN's Humanity... but Red tried his best to act like a machine. I believe that he is acting like a machine to spite me._

_I also believe that he resents me for not believing what he said._

_Of course, most of the SPARTANs are starting to act less like children and more like soldiers. _

_But Red speaks without emotion... And uses military words too much for my comfort._

_He is embracing this lifestyle I have submitted him to because he hates me for taking him away from his family._

_The other SPARTANs are beginning to act like this is what they were born for. And have so far forgotten about their families._

_But not Red, he is harder to break... and my methods of "indoctrination" have so far failed on Red._

_Red is still conscious of his past life, and I believe__ that he still has a connection to his family... and I think I know how._

[RECORD: END]

* * *

**September 6, 2555 ****[0817 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Unknown _Sahara_-class heavy Prowler.**

**Red...**

* * *

As usual, the lights in the briefing room were dim, there were cameras in every corner, there was a small kitchen area leaning against the right wall, and there was one table and two seats on either side of it - and on that table was a single coffee mug full of coffee.

"ONI interview: Incident 071824260, session 3, begin." West said in his usual indifferent tone as he and Red took their seats.

_I am the monument to all my sins. I am the monument to all my sins. I am the monument to all my sins. I am the monument to all my sins. I am the monument to all my sins. I AM THE MONUMENT TO EVERYONE'S SINS!_

"Tell me if you want some water." West told Red.

_H20 required for survival. No! food required for survival. FOOD!_

West narrowed his eyes at Red; curious about why Red looked like he was thinking about everything in the Universe. But then again, Red was thinking about everything in the Universe.

_I know all, I am all! I AM ALL!_

West cleared his throat "Shall we continue where we left off."

_YOU ARE FOOD WEST! FOOD!_

"Vale's POV." Red calmly said as he laid back in his seat.

West let out an annoyed sigh "Vale is irrelevant, 098. _(THAT'S NOT MY NAME!) _Go straight to the next important event."

_NO! NO! THIS IS MY STORY!_

"I need to do this in my pace." Red explained.

"_What_?" West asked, confused "No, Vale doesn't matter, just go straight to the important stuff."

_FUCK YOU! THIS IS NOT YOUR STORY!_

Red smashed his clenched hand down onto the table, spilling West's coffee "VALE MATTERS TO ME!"

West quickly got up and drew his M6H and aimed it Red "STAND DOWN!"

_I AM NOT ONI's TOY_

Red calmly sat back down; as if nothing happened "We do this my way... or not at all." Red calmly told West as he sat back down.

West continued to aim his M6H at Red "You will do what is ordered of you, SPARTAN!"

_I HAVE MY OWN CONSCIOUS! I AM NOT A MACHINE! I AM NOT A MACHINE! I AM NOT A MACHINE! _

"Or what?" Red scoffed.

"What the _fuck_ has gotten in you?!" West questioned, puzzled at what was happening.

_I KNOW ALL! I SEE ALL! I AM ALL!_

"Nothing. I was just being polite earlier," Red began rubbing his chin "Do you want to know how I know everything?"

West kept his pistol aimed on Red _Shoot me! You'll be surprised in what happens _"Fuck a good book! I need to know what the _fuck_ happened to you!" West yelled.

"Too bad. _I'm not telling you._" Red jeered.

"_What the fuck?!_" West exclaimed in absolute shock.

_I know what you want._

"Listen!" Red snapped "I am the only way you will find Installation 06. You will either listen to me -and let me go at my own pace- or you will never find Installation 06."

"_YOU WILL DO WHAT I ORDER YOU TO!_"West roared in anger.

_LIKE A MACHINE?!_

"Or what?" Red scoffed.

It showed on his face; West was shocked by what he was hearing "W- we- we have other means of getting the answer out of you." He threatened in a scared tone.

_YOU ARE A FOOL!_

"I WAS TRAINED TO WITHSTAND TORTURE!" Red yelled in reply to West's threat.

West was sweating; he knew that he would die if Red attacked him "Are we doing this my way?" Red calmly questioned as he got ready to spring out of his chair if West refused.

West didn't answer Red. And instead looked at the cameras in the room; likely trying to make sure everything was being recorded "Fine," He eventually gave in and holstered his M6H "But you will be executed for this."

_Just as soon as my use is up._

"I proceeded to have knowledge of this." 098 calmly assured.

* * *

**November 5, 2547 ****[1434 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**********Forerunner Anti-Gravity Well Facility, Base Of Forerunner Tower, Unknown Halo Array.**

**Vale Nar 'Sarasee...**

* * *

Bodies, weapons, and vehicle wreckage's littered the battlefield.

The front wall of the perimeter wall that surrounded the compound -that in turn, guarded the entrance to the anti-gravity well- was splattered with the different colored blood of the Covenant races and burn marks of all size from plasma hitting the wall.

The large Forerunner door that was built into the front wall had been forced open, and a Sangheili team had been sent in to secure the facility.

The towers that were located where each wall connected had plasma burns and some blood splatters littering them as-well, with a Sangheili that was missing half of its body dangling over the towers edge, with its entrails hanging over the edge.

The battlefield was a bigger disaster; with Jiralhanae, Unggoy, and Kig-Yar bodies everywhere. So far all of the Wraiths from the first vehicle detachments were destroyed -mainly by the damned Demon.

All of the Banshees that were escorting the Phantoms that were dropping off troops -and 3 Phantoms- went to pursue the Phantom that the Heretics and Demon had hijacked.

The Banshees were easily destroyed. But what surprised Vale -who was near impossible to surprise- was how the Phantoms were destroyed. Apparently, hundreds of Sentinels swarmed the 3 Phantoms, and assisted the Heretics and Demon.

A Phantom appeared over Vale's head; and he watched as it flew over the compound's walls, and stopped over the path that led into the anti-gravity well that held the giant floating Forerunner tower in the air.

_Has the holy Prophet of Pity arrived?_

The Prophet of Pity and his Honor Guards floated down the Phantom's gravity lift which confirmed Vale's thought.

_Good. I have means to speak with the holy Prophet._

"Lance, move the bodies out of the holy Prophet of Pity's path." Vale ordered his Sangheili escort Lance with a wave of his gloved hands.

Vale's escort Lance -which consisted of a Zealot, 2 Ultras, 1 Major, and 4 Sangheili Minors- quickly moved out to move the bodies -save the Zealot named Var 'Lultamee; who was always at Vale's side.

"He has two Jiralhanae Captain Utlras with him." Var pointed out.

_He was quick to replace his previous Ultra Captains._

The fact that the Prophet always had two of its Jiralhanae pets with it bothered Vale a great deal. And he had reason to be worried. The Prophet of Pity had already attempted to commune with the Heretics without Vale's knowledge. So Vale could only guess what else the Prophet had done behind his back.

Vale heard Var clench his mandibles "I do not like those barbarians being so close to the holy Prophets."

_Only because of your unneeded hatred towards the Jiralhanae._

Every Sangheili disliked the Jiralhanae; but Var hated them much more than Vale had ever seen before.

Var himself was exceptionally large for a Sangheili; standing 9 feet tall, and he used his size and strength to intimidate those smaller than him -and as far as Vale knew, it was working.

His armor showed his authority, with being the standard gold armor with crimson trimmings and engravings that all Zealots wore. He also wore a cloak that covered his left shoulder, arm, and thigh -his left thigh happened to be the one his energy sword was sheathed on; so nobody could tell if he was getting ready to draw it. This was one of the reasons Vale felt secure around him; potential assassins -if there ever were any- would usually be wise enough to stay away from one who could be preparing to strike them, without their knowledge.

Var's eyes were also intimidating; with them being a dark Orange. Var's eye bridge was also very angled and sharp which gave him a more aggressive look.

"Why do the Prophets place so must trust in such _barbaric creatures_?" Var mused to himself.

_This unneeded hostility is irritating._

Vale decided he would counter what Var just said, and cocked his head around so he is facing the Zealot "You judge them as barbarians due to their culture?" Var turned to face Vale; obviously surprised to see Vale defend them "I have seen the Jiralhanae fight with as much honor as a Sangheili warrior. They are not all the same... they are not defined by a single mind -they are all different _(Like the Humans) _to the contrary of what you would believe."

"But there are more savage Jiralhanae than there are honorable ones." Var countered.

_That still doesn't change the matter that they are not all the same._

Var one was of the rare Sangheili that questioned what Vale said. This made sense, of course, because Vale would always question those around him, and even those who were higher rank them him; like the Prophet of Pity.

"And there are more honorable Humans then there are savage ones." Vale calmly clicked his mandibles in reply.

What Vale spoke was heresy, and Vale knew that Var knew this due to his mandibles parting in a shocked expression "Brother, your head could be lost for what you said."

_No, I think not._

"The Prophets will not have me executed for such a blight," Vale assured Var "I have said much worse in the presence of the holy Prophet of Pity."

Var let out a chuckle "Is that what all the '_yelling_' from the Prophet of Pity's quarters was?"

_Yes. And they call the Jiralhanae the loud and savage ones._

"Yes," Vale nodded indifferently "We disagree much; but we always stand together when we must."

Vale turned his attention back to the compound's doors to see the Prophet of Pity float out of the compound's front wall doors on its throne with its escort in tow.

_As I suspected, the Honor Guards are still closer to the Prophet of Pity than the Jiralhanae are._

Vale had only ever seen the Prophet of Pity on his floating throne. Vale had also never seen the Prophet of Pity without his small holy crown with holographic symbols that laid on his head.

Like all San 'Shyuum, he had his wattles nicely groomed, and earrings in his appendages.

His robe was crimson with glowing blue trimmings along the robe. Vale found that he was going overboard with his appearance; for not even the holy Prophet of Truth had glowing trimmings on his robe.

Var clicked his lower mandibles "The amount he yells at you has me worried."

Vale cocked his head back towards Var "Fear not, brother, I am too valuable for them to discard me for such words." Vale reassured.

"You may be wrong!" Var protested.

_I am rarely wrong, brother._

"No," Vale calmly disagreed as he shook his head "If I were to die for my verbal transgressions, I would be dead already."

Var realized that he wasn't going to succeed in his argument, and simply clicked his mandibles together in annoyance before turning his attention back to the approaching Prophet.

_He is stubborn enough to be a Unggoy._

"Be at ease, brother. For you being worried is not relevant. And if I were to die for my transgressions, then have I not died a Heretic? And mourning me is heresy?" Vale questioned Var who clicked his mandibles, thinking.

_I believe I know what his answer will be._

"I mourn who I want in quiet," Var eventually said "Only the Prophets can remove me from the blessed path. And what the Prophets do not know, will not hurt them."

_Actually, brother, it could._

"Unless it is plotting for their demise." Vale mused.

Without an answer; Vale cocked his head back around to see Var's mandibles parted in a shocked expression _Damn _"I was not making suggestions." Vale reassured.

"I know that. But... the Prophet of Pity has ears _everywhere_," Var warned Vale "If he hears this... Gods only know what he will do."

_I already know this._

Vale's Lance began hurrying back to Vale's position; rushing around the Prophet and his escort, and hurrying back to Vale.

"We must end this topic now." Vale told Var as his Lance formed in beside him.

Var clicked his mandibles together in agreement.

"Oh so worthy Fleet-Master!" The holy Prophet of Pity greeted them with a gesture as he came to a stop in front of them "Forgive me -the holy Prophet of Pity- for this rude intrusion. But I -the holy Prophet of Pity- seek to discover the cruel fate of my Jiralhanae Captain Ultra's bodies."

_Such a task would not sway you from leaving your quarters._

"We have so far discovered three Ultra Captain bodies on the field. But they are too fresh to have been killed over 12 units ago," Vale informed "It is highly unlikely that the bodies will be found inside the anti-gravity well. If so, the location of the bodies is unknown."

"Though they walk the path," The Prophet began a Sermon "their bodies deserve a proper holy burial. I -the holy Prophet of Pity- cannot bring myself -the holy Prophet of Pity- to think that when the Great Journey begins -as it will, for it is the Prophet's age-old promise- I -the holy Prophet of Pity- will face these worthy Jiralhanae who have walked the blessed path, and tell them that their bodies are but dirt!"

_These Sermons are ridiculous._

"At least their bodies are embraced by Halo's holy soil." Var sadly and respectively stated.

"SILENCE!" The Prophet of Pity snapped "You dare speak out-of-place in the presence of a _holy Prophet_ -those who will lead the Covenant to salvation?!"

_Damn it!_

"Holy Prophet of Pity, this aggression is necessary, unacceptable," Vale quickly broke in before things could get out of hand "Zealot Var 'Lultamee is my most trusted soldier-"

"SILENCE, FLEET-MASTER!" The Prophet of Pity interrupted in an aggressive roar "This unworthy Zealot is too _lesser_ to be in my -the holy Prophet of Pity's- presence -_let alone speak_."

_Unworthy? I think not._

"All those who walk the blessed path are equal to each other," Vale reminded the Prophet "This Zealot is more worthy to walk the path then I am."

"Holy Prophet of Pity," Var click his mandibles in a worried way; that Vale had never heard nor seen before _No! Be silent_ "I ask for your forg-"

"_SILENCE_!" The Prophet screamed "You shall lose your head for such arrogance!"

_What nonsense is this._

"_What?!_" Var exclaimed, clicking his mandibles in shock "No, please, _no_!"

"You will not take his head." Vale calmly told the Prophet.

And as usual, a shocked expression appeared on the Prophet's face "_YOU DARE DEFY ME -THE HOLY PROPHET OF PITY? I -THE HOLY PROPHET OF PITY- AM THE PROPHET OF PITY! VOICE OF THE COVENANT!_"

_Voice?_

"You are not the _one voice_." Vale reminded the Prophet.

"I -THE HOLY PROPHET OF PITY- KNOW THIS YOUR _DAMN FOOL_!" The Prophet of Pity screamed.

_This is off topic._

"What you just said does not matter," Vale changed the topic "What matters is your goals of executing my most trusted Zealot."

"He persists to speak in my -the holy Prophet of Pity's- presence!" The Prophet protested.

_This is unacceptable._

"I have seen Minor Unggoy speak to a Prophet," Vale rubbed his lower mandibles in irritation "What you say is absurd."

"WHAT I -THE HOLY PROPHET OF PITY- SAY IS WHAT THE HOLY GODS -THE DIVINE FORERUNNERS- SAY!" The Prophet screamed in protest.

_You scream louder than a Unggoy off of the teat. I cannot believe you have such respect that they say you have._

"And are our Gods so cruel?" Vale calmly questioned, his patience not fading -as it never did.

"YOU DARE QUESTION OUR GODS -THE HOLY FORERUNNERS?!" The Prophet screamed.

_My mind is going to hurt for units after this._

"Enough of this farce," Vale waved in annoyance "Zealot Var will not loose his head for something that is not even a transgression. And we must speak of future events."

"I -the holy Prophet of Pity- will take your Zealot's head. And you will not stop me!" The Prophet jeered.

"You take his head an I will report you to the council," Vale threatened "Var is a valuable asset. And execution of a valuable asset for no reason is a major crime _(And you will be punished_) And you say that I may have no friends among the Prophets. You are wrong. The holy Hierarch: Prophet of Truth holds me in great favor. And last I heard, he finds you as annoying as I do."

_My words will hopefully make him listen to reason -and hate my guts even more._

And it did. The Prophet looked at him with a shocked expression "Y- You _dare?!_" He exclaimed.

_I will have your head rolling around High Charity._

"I dare," Vale nodded his head to confirm the Prophets worries "In-fact, I am so certain that the holy Prophet of Truth will have you convicted for your illegal use of your power, I may physically retain you myself."

The Prophet of Pity's face turned to complete shock, horror, and most of all... fear.

"Shall we do this your way? Holy Prophet of Pity?" Vale questioned, getting ready to draw his energy sword if he must, he turned to see his escort Lance get ready to seize the Prophet as well, even the Honor Guards looked as if they would seize the Prophet of Pity. The Jiralhanae Ultra Captains, however, looked as if they were going to fight for the venomous Prophet.

"HAVE IT _YOUR WAY_!" The Prophet finally gave in.

_I always have my way _Var let out a sigh of relief, and Vale clicked his mandibles in success "Now," Vale quickly changed the topic "I suggest we leave this farce behind and focus on the current events."

The Prophet of Pity reluctantly nodded in annoyance.

_Good. I would prefer that this farce be lost in time. But the fleet will not take my consideration._

"The Heretics," Vale continued as the Shadows entered the area to begin cleaning up the bodies "Sentinels of this holy ring assisted them."

"It is highly likely that the Sentinels have fallen from grace, and diverted to the Heretics." The Prophet suggested.

_That is highly unlikely._

"Then why did the Sentinels wait until so many of the Heretics fell before assisting them?" Thel questioned.

"How in the Human home-world -the home of the great plague- am I -the holy Prophet of Pity- meant to know?" The Prophet asked in an annoyed tone.

_Maybe your Gods told you _Vale decided it would be wise to keep that thought to himself "You seemed to have knowledge of this rogue Oracle. I assumed you knew of its influence."

The Prophet of Pity let out an annoyed sigh "Well I -The holy Prophet of Pity, voice of the Covenant and our Gods- do not know."

_This is getting tiresome._

Vale was about to reply when he heard a gruff voice call out "Holy Prophet of Pity." Vale turned to see the one who just spoke was a Jiralhanae Chieftain by the name of Literus who was approaching with a Bodyguard to both of his sides.

"Oh so worthy Chieftain," The Prophet greeted with a gesture "You have my -The holy Prophet of Pity's- attention."

_So eager to escape the previous topic?_

"I have a situation," Literus began to explained to the Prophet "A _runt_ in my Pack is questioning my decisions -which in turn is questioning_ your_ decisions."

_You bring such a minor matter to a Prophet?_

"I question the holy Prophet of Pity's decisions all the time." Vale clicked his mandibles.

"And how _you are not dead_... surprises me." Literus retorted.

_If you were not the Prophet of Pity's pet, I would have your head._

Oh though Vale respected the Jiralhanae, and disagreed with the conflict between them and the Sangheili; Literus was one of those Jiralhanae that he was right to hate.

Literus was a violent Jiralhanae. He would often execute members of his Pack for little reason and get into fights with the Sangheili warriors within the fleet. But his biggest transgression was annoying Vale.

Literus was also huge; standing at 11 feet tall. He had his fur all shaved off, save for around his back, chest, and cheeks -which gave him some facial fur.

Literus's armor was also not the generic type of Jiralhanae Chieftain armor. His armor was all black, instead of being black and red. He had Human skulls on his belts along with Human weapons. He also had the skulls of Jiralhanae that had challenged him on his belts. Across his torso was a belt that was only there for Literus to hold the various different knifes that he would use to decapitate and skin his enemies. And he had his gravity hammer tied over his back which Vale believed would not be good if he had to quickly draw it for combat.

"Bring me -the holy Prophet of Pity- this rebellious 'runt' then." The Prophet waved his hands for the Chieftain to continue.

Literus let out a bark to his Bodyguards, and they immediately went back to the Phantom that the Chieftain arrived in.

_This is diverting from the major topic._

"Holy Prophet of Pity," Vale said "I must begin my observation of the bodies for a report."

"Allow my Jiralhanae -those that will walk the path equally- to do such _horrific_ _work_." The Prophet replied.

_I know why. But why does it matter to you what horrors I may see of my people? Especially after I threatened you._

"Holy Prophet of Pity, I would prefer to do this myself." Vale told the Prophet.

"Well, Fleet-Master, I -the holy Prophet of Pity- actually need your assistance with the Jiralhanae's problem." The Prophet floated over and placed a hand on Literus's shoulder.

_What is this? Physical contact with a Jiralhanae?_

Vale was about to protest when he turned to the sound of grunting; and saw Literus's Bodyguards dragging a young, naked Jiralhanae towards them.

_He is too young to suffer what he is about to suffer._

Literus got up and walked over to the young Jiralhanae "This is the runt." Literus told the Prophet of Pity as he smashed his fist across the young Jiralhanae's face.

_Such barbaric acts in front of a Prophet should not be allowed. This is not good, I'm thinking like a Jiralhanae hater._

"What is your name?" The Prophet of Pity questioned the young Jiralhanae.

"Careekius." He weakly and softly replied.

"Well, Careekius, what is the meaning of this transgression?" The Prophet asked.

"Holy Prophet of Pity, I questioned his tactical decisions." Careekius explained.

_This may actually be interesting._

"How so?" Vale joined in.

Careekius looked at him, surprised to see a Sangheili take interest "I have always disliked his tactical decisions," He began "But after this battle... I lost too many of those I consider close; to just stand around and let him make more mistakes."

Literus growled and smashed Careekius across the face with his gloved fist "YOU DARE?!" The Chieftain roared in rage.

"Enough!" The Prophet of Pity shouted "I -the holy Prophet of Pity- shall hear what this 'runt' has to say."

_Perhaps I can take advantage of such an opportunity. _

Vale clicked his mandibles "Tell us what you could have done in this battle if you were in the Chieftain's place."

Careekius had a curious expression on his face, but it soon turned to a relieved expression when he figured out that he may live "I would not have sent Pack members, Kig-Yar, and Unggoy in as cannon fodder. We could have sent Yanme'e in as cannon fodder -for they are for expendable _(He has true strategy that I did not believe the Jiralhanae to have)_"

Careekius took a deep breath before continuing "We could of have the Lekgolo form some giant Mgalekgolo and smash through their defenses _(This just keeps getting more interesting)_ And Kig-Yar snipers should have also been used! _(Yes) _The cliffs provide plenty of cover to snipe the Heretics from a distant. And moving in Scarabs was unnecessary! In-fact, I believe it is the Scarabs that made the Heretics and Demon retreat! _(He is too smart to let die)_"

Vale nodded his head and clicking his mandibles in agreement once Careekius stopped talking "I agree with all of this."

"Though my brothers may be dead," Careekius sadly said "I will see them again in paradise. But they could have still proved valuable to the extermination of the Human race _(__This is all too true)_"

Vale turned to the Prophet of Pity; who was still floating in front of the Careekius "Holy Prophet of Pity, we must not let such an intelligent asset die."

The Prophet turned to face Vale and nodded "Agreed. I -the holy Prophet of Pity- would actually like to have him replace Literus."

"_WHAT_!" Literus roared in shock.

_This could escalate quickly._

The Prophet of Pity quickly turned his throne back around to face Literus; his Honor Guards at the ready if the Chieftain turned violent "It is nothing personal, Literus. But I -the holy Prophet of Pity- do believe that this young '_runt_' could provide me -the holy Prophet of Pity, voice of out Gods- better service than you," Vale silently kept his gloved hand near his energy swords handle; in-case he had to leap in to protect the Prophet "You will still be a high-ranking member of the Covenant; of cour-"

Literus snapped, and charged at the Prophet.

_Damn it!_

"Kill the Heretic! Protect the Prophet!" Vale yelled at his Lance as he jumped towards the raging Jiralhanae, and kicked in its chest; sending the Chieftain back a few feet, and giving the Honor Guards and Jiralhanae Captain Ultras time to form a defensive circle around the Prophet.

Vale quickly drew his energy sword, flung his arm up in the air, and bought it down in a swoop which activated it; while his Lance moved in to corner the rampant Jiralhanae Chieftain; even Careekius was assisting.

"GET BACK!" Literus roared as he pulled his gravity hammer off of his back "GET BACK, _BASTARDS_!"

_He will likely kill half of us before we take him down._

"Stand down, and redeem yourself for this heresy!" Vale ordered the Chieftain.

"_Heresy_?" Literus scoffed "Like what '_heresy_' the bastard Prophets had done?"

_Really? You are that blinded from being removed from your post?_

"Being replaced his not heresy, fool." Vale calmly clicked his mandibles to correct the Chieftain as he and his Lance circled it.

Literus began laughing; at what, Vale did not know, and he would never find out, for three pulse beams took the Chieftain in the head.

"_Now_ there are snipers on the cliff?" Careekius laughed as the Chieftain fell to the ground; purple blood oozing and squirting from the 6 small holes in his head.

Vale turned towards a one of the Ultras in his Lance "Bring the snipers who put this Heretic down to my quarters back at the base," Vale ordered the Ultra "I wish to reward them for such a deed."

"Yes, brother." The Ultra nodded before turning around and quickly making his way towards the cliffs.

"_PATHETIC TRAITOR_!" Vale heard the Prophet scream; likely in shock over what happened, and full of adrenaline.

"Clean up this mess," Vale ordered his Lance with a wave of his gloved hand "I will escort the holy Prophet of Pity back to the base," Vale turned to face Var "Brother, you shall do a report on the casualties. And give the new Chieftain your cloak."

Var had an annoyed look on his face; likely not happy that he had to give his cloak to a 'filthy _brute_' but he nevertheless did as he was told.

Vale nodded as his Zealot walked over to Careekius before making Vale turned back around and made his way to the Prophet's side.

"Thank you," The Prophet quietly thanked Vale "If you did not act first, he might have killed me -the holy Prophet of Pity, voice of the Covenant and our Gods."

_This is a new side _Vale was surprised by what he was hearing. Not even ten moments ago, the Prophet and Vale were threatening each other. Now, he was thanking him.

"I would recommend that you double your Honor Guards around you, and keep your Captain Ultras further away from you." Vale advised.

The Captain Ultras looked at each other before turning to glare at Vale in anger.

"No," The Prophet waved a hand in denial "I -the holy Prophet of Pity- will double my guards. But I -the holy Prophet of Pity- will not show distaste to the oh so loyal Jiralhanae after one raging fool."

_That is unwise._

"I will be with the Prophet at all times," Vale heard Careekius reassure as he came up behind them _That does not reassure me_ "And I had no intentions on being a Chieftain in the first place. So if the holy Prophet of Pity wishes to replace me, than so be it. I will not jeopardize my spot on the blessed path for something so minor."

_Perhaps this young one speaks the truth._

"I believe I can trust you," Vale clicked his mandibles together in reply "You are the first Jiralhanae that I like."

"Thank you." Careekius thanked as he, Vale, the Prophet and his escort entered the compound through the front perimeter wall's door.

_I hope my trust is not misplace. _

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to all of those who have read this far (Or just skipped to this chapter to check how this story's progression goes)**

**Please review to point out any lore mistakes, or typos I might have made. Also, everyone who reviews or follows this FanFic gets a character in the story!  
**

**These characters will not be main characters. But they will be important side characters!**

**Please P.M me (or if you can't due to being a guest, just say in a review) about the details of your character; or if you do not want a character in this story.  
BTW: This is not me trying to increase the amount of people who review or follow. This is me saying thanks to those who decided to give my FanFic a chance, and find an interest in it.**

**If you do not tell me any details by the time I say that your character is coming in the next chapter in an A/N, I will make your character what I have already planned.**

**Timmynator will be the _UNSC Kryptonite's _A.I called Timmy. It makes sense since Timmy is a A.I built for advising people; and Timmynator has done a good job in advising me.  
**

**Timmy will be blunt A.I. But is also very friendly, but never jokes around. ****Timmynator, please tell me if you would any of this changed, or if you do not wish to have a character in the story.**

**NightsAnger and Nightswing141, will be part of Fireteam Night; a team of veteran ODST's aboard the _Kryptonite_. Please tell me any details you would like added to these characters, or if you do not want them to be ODSTs.**

**lyndakey1 will be Lynda Keyes; the wife of Jacob Keys's brother.  
Lynda Keys will be the commanding Marine aboard the _Kryptonite_. And of course, she is as smart and brave as Jacob Keys (Runs in the family) lyndakey1, please tell me if you want to change/add any details about your character.**

**Every new person to review or follow will have a major side character named after them put into the story.**

**I will also like to mention that the prologue of this FanFic has a large summary detailing the characters and a bit of there back-stories.**

**Next chapter will be dedicated to Thel 'Lodamee's back-story; which will mostly be a copy and paste of an updated version of my one-shot (Which I did to try and learn how I make and post stories, and update them and add chapters)  
**

**Thanks to this story's followers: ****Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger.**


	9. Chapter Eight: Reflections

**[ CHAPTER EIGHT: REFLECTIONS ]**

* * *

(..[ONI TRANSMISSION]-[No-19021-561-41234-LX]..)

(..[ENCRYPTION CODE:]-[ALPHA-RED]..)

(..[PUBLIC KEY: File/ BRAVO-Three-Nine-Two]..)

(..[DATE:]-[14/06/2544]..)

(..[FROM:]-[Dr. Catherine .E. Halsey]-[SN:CC-409871]-[ID:10141-026-SRB4695]..)

(..[TO:]-[Admiral: Margaret .O. Parangosky]-[SN:00230-00923-MP]-[UNSCMID:03669271]..)

(..[SUBJECT:]-[Sheila-065]-[Covenant knowledge]-[Forerunners]..)

(..[CLASSIFICATION:]-[EYES-ONLY]-[SII/4521209-DR]

[TRANSMISSION:]-[BEGIN]

_It's touching to know that I'm so important that you sent a team of four of my SPARTANs to rescue me._

_I personally do not like being a damsel in distress; so I would prefer that you stray from sending me to excavation sites on planets that are in the line of the Covenant's fleet movement._

_As you may have heard... Miridem has fallen._

_As you also may have heard... The SPARTAN II that was protecting me has been killed in action._

_I hereby activate ONI Directive 930 for Sheila-065._

_She was cut down by a Major class Sangheili -A.K.A: Elite- while trying to protect me during the Covenant's attack on our EVAC shuttle just as it was about to jump into slipspace._

_What surprises me, Admiral, is the fact that the Sangheili Major did not proceed to eliminated me.  
_

_It somehow knew of my importance; and proceeded to kidnap me while I was already in cryo for the slipspace jump._

_It is also confusing as to how the Covenant knew what a Cryo tube was, and knew that I was still alive and could be retrieved. They thankfully did not know how to thaw me out... God knows would have happened if they did._

_I also assume you got the report on Solomon-69 and Arthur-79 from Captain Jiron, so I will not go into detail of it._

_What you may not know, Admiral, is that the Sangheili that personally eliminated Sheila-065, was the same Sangheili that almost killed John-117._

_That's right! the fabled 'Master Chief' was almost killed -by a Sangheili Major, no-less._

_If the Covenant have knowledge of out technology... and they can kill Humanity's last hope, without trouble... than we are in serious trouble. But then again, we are already in trouble that we cannot escape._

_I now know that we cannot win this war through our own means. We must look to these 'Forerunners'_

_From what we know: the Forerunner's are the Covenant's Gods. We also know that these Forerunners disappeared somehow. _

_But they did leave their technology behind. And the Covenant are using their technology as far as we know._

_If we can utilize these 'Forerunner's' technology... than we may have a chance for survival!_

[TRANSMISSION:]-[END]

* * *

**November 6, 2547 ****[0028 Hours] UNSC Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Covenant ****Type-52 troop carrier, Unknown Location, Unknown Halo Array.**

******Thel 'Lodamee...**

* * *

They disappeared.

There was no sight of the Sentinels that Phantom -that contained the Diverted and the Demon- had been following for the past 11 hours. It was if they disappeared into thin air.

But Thel knew that the location of the Sentinels were key to finding the Monitor of the Halo Array they were on. And finding the Monitor was key to escaping. And escaping, was the Key to stopping the needless war.

Thel clicked his mandibles in frustration. It made no sense for the Sentinels to assist them; and then just leave them to their possible death. It also made no sense as to how the Sentinels helped them. If the Sentinels could assist them so easily, then the Monitor must have known of their presence for a while.

"Brother, I must rest." Vale heard Anve tell him.

_Damn it. And I was about to speak with him._

"I must speak with you first, brother," Thel halted him from getting out of his seat with his gloved hand "It will only take a moment."

"Then go ahead, brother." Anve gestured him to continue with a wave of his hand as he sat back down in his seat.

Thel clicked his mandibles as if trying to find the words _I wish that this decision need not happen so soon _"You will be my new second in command," Thel eventually told Anve "Rek is dead... _(Words that hit so hard) _And I need you to fill in this spot that should have no need to be filled."

Thel expected Anve to immediately reply; but he didn't. He just stared at Thel _Is he mad? Or is he just tired? _Anve's weary eyes told little of what he was thinking._  
_

"I will reluctantly accept this mandatory proposal, brother," Anve eventually and sadly clicked his mandibles in reply "Though I do not wish to hold such a position... I do so because it is what Rek would have wanted _(Only you could of thought that__._"

Anve let out a loud breath "I am wondering if Urse was alive... if you may have given it to... him _(He is trying his best not to shed his tears. He does not want to show any weakness) _But Urse, Rek, Lek, Nze - they are all dead _(This is too hard)_ And I/we will never see them again -contrary to what the Prophets told us," Anve looked down to the floor in shame, moving his mandibles as if trying to find the right words to continue; Thel could see his eyes were tearing up _(I would have once hated you for such weakness... but we all lose our strength when our faith is demolished_ _"_They are not waiting for the Great Journey to begin... they are in the eternal darkness... not seeing, feeling or thinking anything. They are just... nothing now."

What Anve was saying was heating Thel's blood up; he had to resist roaring about how they would kill a thousand San 'Shyuum for every Sangheili killed in the needless war.

_I need to calm myself... I need to think._

"Go rest, brother," Thel softly told Anve "I shall have someone take my place in half a unit. I just need to think for a bit."

"Of course," Anve got up and placed a reassuring hand on Thel's soldier "I need to reflect as well." Anve removed his hand and made his way up the ramp that connected the cockpit of the Phantom to the bay.

_Did I really once show as much loyalty to the San 'Shyuum that my men now show me? It is a sickening thought._

Thel relaxed back into his seat; but not taking his eye off of the controls less something appears on the radar.

_Sometimes I wished that never happened... That we never found the Monarch... And that I just died in battle... and never found out about this. But that is me being weak! I will always remember what happened that day! And I shall never forget!_

* * *

**October 17, 2547 ****[1742 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Unknown Human Planet- Possibly Atmosus.**

**Thel 'Lodamee.**

* * *

They were learning.

Humanity was a blight, a disease that had to be cleansed. But even diseases could adapt. Annoyingly, the more Humans adapted to the Covenant onslaught, the longer it would take for the Great Journey to begin.

And now, Humans were guarding a sacred Forerunner installation on their unknown planet that was about to be glassed to oblivion.

But before it would be glassed, the installation had to be secured, explored, and used to its function.

It was large; and it was likely related to the holy rings. But the Humans somehow knew how much it meant to the Covenant, and they were likely preparing a way to prevent the Covenant from using the installation -that could not happen.

Ultra Thel 'Lodamee had his chance of redemption, and a chance to earn his spot back on the path. But failure would be the end of it. Failure... was not an option.

_Pick up the sword, pick up the sword.  
_It may had been heresy to think so, but it was not just Demons that had honor. This Human Commander had used his tactical skills to distract Thel's team long enough. And Thel would give it the honor it deserved.

The Human looked at the sword; examining it. It then looked back up at Thel. Thel nodded to confirm what he wanted.

The battlefield was littered with the dead bodies of many Human and Covenant soldiers. Blood was everywhere, and of all colors. Plasma burn marks, spent Human bullet casings, vehicle wreckage's, and weapons were scattered everywhere.

It was a proper battlefield. To things feel much more right, the installation was in a large, empty valley. No trees, no hills, just a large plain. And all that stood upon the plain, was The unarmored Human Commander, Thel himself, and dozens of surviving Covenant soldiers forming a circle around Thel and the Human.

"If it kills me, Kill it with dignity and honor." Thel ordered his soldiers with a snap of his mandibles.

_Though, I have no interest in dying this day. Let me regain my honor, and my spot on the blessed. Then, death can claim me._

The Human picked up the sword Thel tossed in front of it _Good._

The Human began examining the sword, looking for a way to activate it.

"Hey!" Thel snapped his mandibles at the Human. It, of course, could not understand Thel. But it got its attention.

In order to show the Human how to activate its sword; Thel swung his arm in the air, and swooped it back down. As he did, his energy sword activated.

Thel then nodded at the Human to do the same.

The Human did as it saw. it swung its arm up, and swooped it down. Nothing happened.

_How irritating._

The Human tried again and got it right. And as soon as Thel heard the sizzling of the energy sword, he entered his combat stance.

Thel always carried a second energy sword around - for when he came across that rare Human that had the honor to duel.

The Human entered its own stance; waiting for Thel to strike first.

Thel looked the Human in the eyes. The Human knew it was going to die; even if he won. But it kept its fear at bay, and remained focused.

_If only there were more Humans this honorable._

The Human began circling; waiting for Thel to attack.

_This time, no one will stop me!_ Thel charged.

The Human was not surprised by Thel's unexpected charge, and it bought its blade up to block Thel's strike. The blades connected and a flash of blue energy particles erupted as the blades touched.

Thel disconnected the blades and leaped back. The Human bought its blade back up, readying itself for another strike. But suddenly a pulse bolt went through the Human's head _(What?!) _and blood and brain matter scattered all over the ground. The Human immediately fell to the ground; dead.

_NO! NO! WHY DO THE GODS WISH ME NOT TO HAVE A FAIR DUEL?! _Thel let out a roar in rage.

"There!" A Sangheili Minor named Nze 'Resoldee shouted; pointing to a nearby cliff along the valley's walls. It was a Kig-Yar sniper.

"Bring that fool to me!" Thel ordered his men with a snap of his mandibles as he began making his way towards the pass that led up to the cliff as the circle immediately began to break, and Thel's surviving soldiers rushed to apprehend the Kig-Yar sniper.

_WHY?! I WAS SO CLOSE! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? ARE THE GODS PLAYING A TRICK ON ME?! No I should not think like that. it is heresy to do so._

Thel Once had the chance to kill a Demon. But not just any Demon. The Demon leader, the "_Master Chief._" But he lost the chance because of his previous Supreme Commander: Luro 'Taralumee.

The only reason Thel was not executed for failing to kill the Demon: was because he managed to convince them that the only reason the Demon was not dead was because of the damned Supreme Commander.

Thel fortunately managed to live. The Supreme Commander was not so lucky. He lost his head, and his spot on the path.

Thel, however, also lost his spot. But he was given the chance to redeem himself without becoming Arbiter. Thel was assigned to the _Everlasting Retribution _A CAS-class assault carrier.

The _Everlasting Retributions _Goal was to deal with Forerunner installations and artifacts in the _Second Fleet of Divine Trinity _Who were tasked with the cleansing of this planet.

So far, Thel had not gotten a chance to redeem himself. But if he could find out what this installation held, and reveal its secrets, he would regain his spot on the path. But that, however, would not regain his honor. He almost regained his honor. Now, he was about to kill the fool that took the chance away from him.

The Kig-Yar was already being dragged down the pass by its squad-mates who were likely radioed to do so.

Thel stopped as the Kig-Yar was dragged and thrown down in front of his hoofs and Thel -whose sword was still activated- raised his blade to the Kig-Yar's neck.

"I did not know!" It begged in its screechy voice "Forgive me, Ultra!_ I did not know!_"

_Thankfully, I will not see your pathetic face in paradise _Thel bought his blade back, and swung it. In a quick swoop the Kig-Yar's head was separated from its pathetic body and purple blood squirted from both the neck stump, and head stump.

Thel kicked the body to the ground then turned and made his way to the installation's doors.

_The chances of coming across another honorable Human are to slim for my comfort _Thel couldn't get what just happened out of his head. But he knew he had to. He had to remained focused.

The large door to the installation was shut. And a team had been working on opening since before the last ten Humans fell.

The doors were large. It was natural for doors to be large when it came to huge Forerunner installations. The installation itself was the size of a CAS-class assault carrier. And it was covered in the typical Forerunner engravings and architecture. It was beautiful.

"Progress?" Thel asked the team as he approached the doors.

"We cannot find a way to open the doors." The team leader: a Sangheili named Urse 'Vadamee replied.

"We may have to survey the installation, and see if there is another way in." Another Sangheili named Jol 'Turasee explained.

_We have not enough time. The fleet will not wait forever._

"Time is of the essence," Thel told the team with a snap of his lower mandibles "What about that console, _there?_"

"We have tried to commune with it; but it goes red every time we touch it." Urse explained.

"Ultra," Thel turned to see Rek 'Galravee -Thel's second in command- approaching him "What about a Human? Humans have been able to use Forerunner consoles before."

_This was the Human's last stand on this plagued planet -there are no more Humans._

"Even if there was a Human left on this planet; I refuse to let their filthy hands touch something so sacred." Thel sternly countered Rek's idea.

Thel almost jumped when he heard the large doors open.

"What happened?" Thel quickly asked with a snap of his top mandibles.

"I do not know." Urse replied in a puzzled tone..

The doors opened to reveal a large, dark hallway.

"Ultra?" Rek asked while cocking his head curiously at the dark hallway.

_It just... opened _"Gather the men." Thel ordered Rek.

"By your command." Rek replied with a salute -which consisted of putting his right hand over his shoulder- as he made his way to organize the team.

As Rek made his way, Thel turned around to examine the team for himself.

There were 27 Unggoy, 9 Kig-Yar, and 16 Sangheili left after the battle. Along with 2 Ghosts and a Wraith. There were 300 Unggoy, 70 Kig-Yar, 28 Sangheili, 20 Ghosts and 5 Wraiths when they arrived at the valley. And there was only 200 Human 17 Human Light vehicles, 3 Human tanks, and 25 Human turrets.

The odds were greatly against the Humans, yet they almost wiped Thel's entire team out.

_They fought bravely. Is it heresy to think this? _Thel put the thought aside as his team rallied to him.

"Alright, listen up," Thel began "You are to keep your eyes open for anything of use. You are also forbidden from touching anything without my permission. I will cut the hands from anyone who disobeys these orders. Now, start moving in; and watch for any Humans that may be inside."

The soldiers all saluted and began to march inside. Thel personally did not think any Humans would be held up inside, but there was always the chance.

Some soldiers began to throw flares about to light up the hallway. The hallway itself was larger than Thel originally thought. There were large pillars with engravings in them floating on anti-gravity wells. The walls were also shifting. Thel knew that this place was important.

All of a sudden the dark hallway began to light up. Thel along with everyone else raised their weapons. "Watch out for contact. But if you must fire, avoid hitting anything other than the Humans." Thel told his men.

"Welcome." A big metallic voice said out of nowhere.

_What the? Is this a Human trick?_

"Who's there?" Thel aggressively asked.

"I am the Monarch." The voice replied.

_Where is this voice coming from._

"Where are you?" Thel asked; curious at to what this voice was.

"Continue walking through the hallway." The metallic voice replied.

_Is this a trap?_

"Ultra-" Rek began to warn but Thel broke in first

"-I know."

"What _are you_?" Thel questioned the voice.

"A Forerunner Ancilla." The voice replied.

_An Oracle?_

"Forgive me, Oracle; but how do I know you are not a _Human_?" Thel asked.

"Please elaborate?"

_What does he mean?_

"_The heathens_. The ones that the Forerunners said were a plague." Thel clarified.

"Who told you that?" The voice asked.

Thel, and all of his soldiers froze _This is not right.__  
_

"The holy Prophets. The ones the Forerunners chose." Thel explained.

"Unknown. Please tell me the name of their race." The voice replied.

_This does not make any sense._

"San 'Shyuum." Thel replied "How could you not know who the Reclaimers are?"

"I think I understand, now. Continue down the hall; and please tell me more, for I have been here a long time." The voice told Thel.

_What? why does he not know? Did the Forerunners not tell him? Is this a Human trick.  
_

"Forgive us, Oracle, but like I said earlier: you could be a Human and this could be a Human trick." Thel reminded the voice.

"I do not know what I can say to convince you that I am an Ancilla." The voice replied.

"Ultra," Rek broke in "it has already spoken much about topics that Humans should not be aware of."

_That makes sense... but why does he not know about the Covenant's goal that the Gods set for us? And the Humans? it is acting odd._

"We will know the truth _soon_." Thel assured him with a click of his mandibles.

Thel and his man continued down the hallway as the voice instructed them.

"This has to be a Human trick." He heard one of his Sangheili soldiers whisper.

"Of course it is." He heard another Sangheili reply.

"I do not understand what is happening." An Unggoy said.

_Of course you do not. Unggoy rarely walk the path._

"Then you do not walk the path, and you will not go to paradise." Thel heard the second Sangheili coldly snap his mandibles in reply to the Unggoy .

"_Paradise_?" The Unggoy asked; confused.

_Gods, his arrogance irritates_ _me._ Thel was about to tell the small creature to shut up when he began to see another large door at the end of the hallway.

"Prepare yourselves." Thel told his men "If there are Humans: kill them for desecrating this holy place."

Thel's soldiers replied with the sounds of: Sangheili clicking their mandibles, energy swords sizzling, plasma weapons charging up, and Kig-Yar shields activating. Thel activated his own sword - ready to kill any Human he saw.

The doors opened. But instead of there being a storm of Human bullets -as Thel suspected- five Sentinels floated out of the darkly lit room.

"Hold your fire!" Thel roared as the Sentinels hovered pasted them through the hallway.

_They would have killed any Human they saw. That voice is definitely an Oracle. But... I think it would have been better if it were Humans._

"Enter." The metallic voice said. the voice no longer came from nowhere, but instead came from directly in front of them.

"At ease." Thel told his men as they went through the large doorway to see the holy Oracle.

It looked like a Monitor that the Covenant had encountered before. But it was larger, and it did not float around freely. Instead, it was what looked to be built into a glowing wall with Forerunner cables running from it to consoles around the room.

"Oracle." Thel said as he and his men bowed in respect.

_My spot on the Great Journey will return to me. But I need to hear what this Oracle has to say._

"Welcome," the Oracle greeted them "Let me reintroduce myself. I am the Monarch."

"Holy Oracle, it is an honor to be in your presence." Thel respectively greeted.

"Wait..." The Oracle quickly said before Thel could continue "Did you kill the Reclaimers outside this installation?"

_Why would we kill our own people? _"No. The Humans did." Thel clarified.

"I was referring to the Humans." The Oracle elaborated.

A jolt of shock went through Thel's body _What does he mean? What... HERESY IS THIS?_

"_HERESY!_" Thel heard one of his Sangheili men roar.

"_HERETIC!_" Thel heard another Sangheili soldier roar.

"Silence!" Thel roared and everyone went quiet immediately.

"The Humans are not the... _(I cannot bring myself to say it) _They are not... _not_... They are a plague. A _disease_ that must be cleansed. That is what the Forerunners wanted, right?" Thel quickly clicked his mandibles; worried about what the Oracle would say next.

"Left them behind?" The Oracle questioned.

"WHEN THE FORERUNNERS STARTED THE _GREAT JOURNEY_!" Thel roared; his patience lost "THE HUMANS CANNOT BE... _THEY CANNOT_!"

"So I am lying?" The Oracle asked.

_That must be the case! _"YOU HAVE TO BE!" Thel roared "_WE ARE THE RECLAIMERS!_"

"Whoever told you that you were the Reclaimers were lying; or made a mistake." The Oracle told Thel.

_WHAT?! NO?! NO?! NO?! NOOOOOO?! THAT IS NOT TRUE!_

"NO! THE COVENANT ARE THE CHOSEN ONES AS INHERITORS WHEN FORERUNNERS ASCENDED TO PARADISE!_ WE ARE THE ONES!_" Thel roared back.

"Ascended?" The Monarch asked "My creators did not ascend anywhere. They died along with every other sentient being in the Galaxy when Halo was activated."

_NO! HE HAS THE FACTS WRONG! HE HAS TO HAVE!_

Thel began breathing slowly - venting his anger. It was not good to allow his men to see him like this. "You had to have been misinformed, Oracle. Halo starts the Great Journey. With it, all those who walk the blessed path join the Forerunners in Divinity. Those who do not walk the path are left behind." Thel clarified to the Oracle.

"I see now. This is religious based." The Oracle finally realized "You have gotten the facts greatly wrong. My creators did not ascend to Divinity. They died along with every living being in the Galaxy. this was done to stop the unstoppable Flood."

_The Flood? No, that does not matter. What matters is if they did not ascend, then... NO!_

"THERE'S NO PARADISE?! NO... _SALVATION_?!" Thel started roaring and aggressively clicking his mandibles again.

"No." The Oracle confirmed.

_Then all those who have died... everything...  
_

Thel had an urge to faint out of shock -but he had to stay strong for his men.

"I don't understand. The Didact should have guided the Reclaimers? Why are my Sentinels telling me that the Reclaimers are only Tier 3? Why are you attacking them?" The Oracle asked out-loud.

"The holy Prophets told us that the Humans are a blight. A disease. and that they defiled sacred Forerunner artifacts. For that, they had to be purged." Thel quietly and softly elaborated to the Oracle.

"The Humans are the Reclaimers to the Forerunners technology. My guess is that the San 'Shyuum found out about this, and told you lies. For what reason, I do not know."

_I do. _"Because this would have broken the Covenant." Rek broke in "They would no longer be the leaders. _The Humans_ would be."

_Words out of my mouth._

"We have fought our true leaders all these years." Another Sangheili sadly realized.

"No." Thel broke in "If there is no Paradise, then the Great Journey does not exist. And if there is no Great Journey, there is no Covenant. Everyone who has ever died during this fake war died for nothing. And they would not receive salvation. They died, and they will _remain dead_. All the comrades I hoped to see again, I never will."

Roars of rage went across the entire room. Thel turned to to the sound of energy swords activating, and saw 4 of his Sangheili turn their swords to face their chests, then stabbed themselves

_I don't blame them. they lived a lie, we all have. But I need my brothers alive _"No one else kill themselves. Unless you do not want to see the damn Prophets entrails be scattered around _High Charity_!" Thel told his men "Every Covenant soldier to have ever died, died in vain. The Prophets will burn for this."

A roar of approval went throughout the room. Thel noticed that only the Sangheili were roaring.  
_The Kig-Yar and Unggoy have never really cared about the Covenant. They are slaves and mercenaries, after all._

"We have lived a lie. Spent years fighting when there was no need to. And shed out blood willingly -believing that salvation comes to those who walk this fake path whether they are dead -or not." Thel explained to his men; his hearts pumping faster by the moment.

"The _fake Covenant_ will break apart! And the San 'Shyuum will cry out for mercy as the joined forces of all those who walked the fake path, turn on those who betrayed them!" Thel continued; letting his voice get louder "Remember Your Brothers?! Remember How They DIED In Your Arms?! Remember How You Told Them That You Would See Them Again IN _PARADISE?!_ WELL YOU WON'T! YOU WILL NEVER SEE YOUR BROTHERS AGAIN! THEY ARE NOT WAITING FOR THE FAKE GREAT JOURNEY TO BEGIN! THEY ARE DEAD! THEY ARE IN AN ETERNAL DARKNESS! AND THEY DIED FOR _NOTHING!_"

The room filled with roars, even the Kig-Yar and Unggoy were joining in -figuring out what was happening.

"WE WILL SLAUGHTER EVERY SAN 'SHYUUM IN THIS DAMN GALAXY! WOMEN, CHILDREN; _IT DOES NOT MATTER!_ THEY WILL ALL _DIE!_" Thel assured his men. And his men roared their approvals back at him.

Thel turned to look at the Monarch "We owe you _everything_. Thank you, Ora- Monarch."

"You are welcome." The Monarch replied.

"What now?" Thel turned to see Rek was approaching him.

Thel placed a hand on Rek's shoulder "We need to inform the Fleet-Master. And he, in turn, will inform the fleet. But they will not just believe his word, we need the Monarch to assist us."

Thel removed his hand from Rek's shoulder, turned back to the Monarch "Is there a way for you to come with us?" Thel asked "For there is no way we can bring the Fleet-Master will come here under our word while there is a treacherous San 'Shyuum in our fleet."

"Not here." He replied "Though, there is a way. I am one of the most advance Forerunner Ancillas created. But I was created to remain here and assist the Reclaimers. But I do have another function. And that was to assist the Reclaimers with locating the Halo Arrays. The Monitors at the Halo Arrays could assist the Reclaimers, but I was connected to a network that allows to me teleport between here and the 7 other Halo Arrays. Now, I do not have Sentinels here that can remove me from my Parisadal. But each Halo Array has Sentinels built specifically to disconnect me from the network and make me mobile -so I can assist the Reclaimers further. So, I can teleport us to a Halo array and get myself disconnected from the network so I will be mobile. From last time I checked, Installation 02 has a Forerunner Dreadnought on it so we can transport ourselves back to well... where-ever you need me to go. One last thing, it is not my function to serve anyone other than the Reclaimers. But from what digging I have done since I hacked your 'Battle-net' the Reclaimers are in major trouble from your Covenant. So, I have no choice but to assist you."

_So, we have to wait a bit before we can kill the traitorous Prophets? _"Is this the only way?" Thel asked "The longer we wait, the more lives are lost for a fake cause."

"This is the only way." The Monarch explained.

_So be it. Without the Monarch to back up our word, we might as well kill ourselves._

"Okay, then do it. We will all go. I cannot risk any of my men to the claims of '_Heresy_'." Thel finally agreed.

"Good," The Monarch remarked "Please wait while I initiate the teleportation procedure."

Thel nodded _So, we finally get to see one of the sacred rings. I would be ecstatic if not for what I just heard._

"How long will this take?" Thel asked.

"It is already done," the Monarch immediately replied "Please stay still. And do not worry if you feel an odd sensation."

"You heard him, men. Stand fast. Soon, vengeance shall be ours." Thel told his men.

Thel turned back around to face the Monarch _Everything I know is a lie. Our religion, politics, culture, it's all a lie._

Thel began to feel the odd sensation the Monarch was talking about.

"Oh, no." The Monarch said.

"What" Was what Thel was going to say, but nothing left his mouth. Thel looked down to see his body turn to orange particles.

Then... everything went black.

* * *

**November 6, 2547****[0039 Hours] UNSC Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Covenant ****Type-52 troop carrier, Unknown Location, Unknown Halo Array.**

******Thel 'Lodamee...**

* * *

Thel jumped out of his reflection as he heard the Demon making its way down the ramp.

_What does it want? _"Do you need something?" Thel coldly asked the Demon.

"I realized a topic I wish to proceed to engage in verbal conversation about." The Demon explained its presence; oh though, Thel had no idea what it meant.

_It believes I understand this Human gibberish? _"What are you saying?" Thel clicked his mandibles in annoyance.

"I wish to bring up something I have realized." The Demon clarified in words Thel understood.

_Why did you not just say that to begin with?_ Thel decided to let it go and turned in his seat to face the Demon who was standing behind him "Go ahead."

The Demon didn't move "If you are the exact Elite that almost eliminated Sierra-117, than you are also the exact Elite that eliminated Sierra-065."

_Who?_

"I have killed a lot of things in my life," Thel clicked his mandibles in reply "But I do not know what_ 'Sierra'_ is."

"Demons," The Demon clarified "You killed a female Demon while kidnapping the same Human which the 'Master Chief' came after on a rescue mission, and hence, lead you to fight him."

_I do not get where you are going with this. _"You already know this." Thel reminded the Demon.

"I did not know that you killed Sheila-040 until a few minutes ago where I figured it out" The Demon explained.

_I see _"So I killed a Demon?" Thel clicked his mandibles in annoyance "What of it? I have killed countless Humans in my false campaign against them."

"Sheila-065 was my sister-in-arms. I cared for her more than you could ever imagine," The Demon replied in an indifferent tone "As I cared for all of my SPARTAN siblings. And you eliminated her."

_Your anger at me is betraying something you said earlier _"You mentioned that you would not let personal feelings or emotions get in the way of escaping this damned ring," Thel reminded the Demon "So are you going to betray your word and kill me?"

The Demon did not say anything for ages. And it never did; for it soon turned around and silently went back up to the Phantom's bay.

_Neither a yes or a no? Then we have a problem..._

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to all those who have stuck through my entire story so far to see this. No thanks goes to the people who skipped to this chapter for they have to earn it by reading the entire story first.**

**As always: please review because it makes me feel good. And please point out any typos or Canon mistakes I may or may not have done.**

**As per my desire to give anyone who reviews or favorites -or both- this FanFic a character, I hereby announce that xXLife'sAPopsicleXx (Can't put your entire name in, sorry) will be getting a major side character.  
Since I cannot name anyone after anything in this name, I ask that you contact me via review or P.M for your characters details or if you do not want a character at all!**

**Also, I do not know how the Covenant calendar works (Details are scarce on the wiki) So I will be constructing the calendar myself.**

**Moments = Minutes.  
****Units = Hours.  
Rotations = Days.  
Mini-Segments = Weeks.  
Segments = Months.  
Cycles = Years.**

**Thanks to this story's followers: ********Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, xX****Life'sAPopsicleXx **


	10. Chapter Nine: Encounter

**AUTHOR'S NOTE (URGENT) For the love of God, all reviewers or Followers -or both- please read the end A/N; for you will find something to your interest in it.**

* * *

**[ CHAPTER NINE: ENCOUNTER ]**

* * *

[RECORD: [Dr. Catherine. E . Halsey: SN: CC-409871] No. 0397 [2525: 21, 04, 1733, 53s]

[TOPIC: Sierra: Red-098: Analyse Post-Augmentation-09]

[SITUATION: HOTEL 9]

[CLASSIFIED: ALPHA ONE: ONI-SEC-PRTCL-1A]

[RECORD: BEGIN]

_Out of all the SPARTANs crippled during the augmentation... Red is the only one who we can immediately fix._

_Red's augmentations went extremely well. But there was... a minor flaw... Red's body rejected the Carbide Ceramic Ossification. Although the CCO did work on Red... the bones in his right hand were pulverized, and we had to replace the bones with cybernetics._

_The surgery proved successful, and he is at the moment in rehabilitation._

_I have a theory about why he may rejected the CCO, and as to how it didn't have a large affect on him._

_He once said to me that he 'shares his pain'... I now understand what that meant. But I seriously doubt that it is related to this._

_All in all; I have no doubt that Red will soon make a full recovery, and he will be able to rejoin the rest of the SPARTANs. _

_Out of all the SPARTANs that I have taken a keen interest in -John, Sorren, Kelly- Red... is one of the most interesting out of them._

_He has proven to be very skilled... and very violent._

_I still think back to what he did... and how it is my fault... I took these children away from their families... I made them machines... if one tried to become a machine too soon in his training... it was to spite me._

_Red hated my guts. Now, he thinks of me as a mother -just like all of the other SPARTANs. _

_I didn-_

_Doctor._

_Déjá? What's wrong, now?_

_Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez needs to speak with you, doctor. _

_Again? Is this about Red?_

_I'm not sure, Doctor._

_How typ-_

[RECORD: END]

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**November 7, 2547 ****[1326 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Disembarking********Covenant ****Type-52 troop carrier, Unknown Location, Unknown Halo Array.**

**********Red-098...**

* * *

The sun's glare was glowing in 098's visor. And the only reason he was not shielding his eyes was due to his visor automatically changing its tone so 098 could look the sun directly in the sun, and not be blinded.

The sun in the system was blue; which may have helped a bit since it is proven that yellow is the brightest color.

But there was something _enchanting _about the sun. Something that was keeping 098's gaze.

"Grab those plasma launchers." 098 heard a Diverted Elite named Freyn 'Okranee order what 098 figured was a bunch of Grunts.

098 didn't have to see who was speaking anymore. He added the names of all the Diverted soldiers to his IFF; so he now knew which Diverted soldier was which. But the Huragok named Lighter Than Some updated his IFF and translation software further which managed to synchronize the directions of voices, and the frequency of tones; so his HUD would display which Diverted soldier was speaking along with the subtitles from his translator appearing on the bottom of his HUD.

098 was at first reluctant to give Lighter his helmet again. But he eventually let the floating Alien have a look; and was glad he did so.

Lighter also found out that the Covenant soldiers had lenses over their eyes which served as their HUDs. Lighter utilized this and tinkered with all the Diverted soldiers lenses -much to the dismay of a few Grunts and Jackals- and set up a subtitled translation system that would translate what 098 said -similar to his own translation system. This meant that 098 didn't have to listen to his words automatically become Sangheili.

The Huragok also proved useful when it came to collecting food -for it would show them which food was good for which race. This proved highly useful for 098; because he wouldn't eat anything other than nutritious food.

Mendez had taught the SPARTANs that if they couldn't find food, then they would have to resort to consuming body fluids and waste. While a good idea, one option for gaining nutrition was lost after the SPARTANs augmentations.

But luckily, 098 didn't have to resort to such drastic measures.

Eating did, however, prove to be a challenge, because every time he proceeded to eat in the Phantoms bay he would have to remove his helmet; and in doing so, he got fearful stares from the Grunts.

But one long, stern stare at the Grunts made them forget about him and curl up in a corner and go to sleep. 098 once thought he heard one crying after he gave it a look.

Despite landing the Phantom a couple of times to collect food and relieve themselves, 098 and the Diverted had been on the move for around the past 36 hours.

And out of all those hours, they had not found the Sentinels that made their way towards the mountains. Sure enough, the three dozen Sentinels -that began escorting the Phantom after they destroyed the three Phantoms pursuing them- were still with them. And at the moment they were still guarding the Phantom. But a few had broken off to 098's position -as he was further away from the Phantom than anyone else.

098 tried to have the Monarch's Sentinels commune with the ring's Sentinels. But communications led nowhere, with the ring's Sentinels paying no heed to whatever the Monarch's Sentinels were saying in their beeps and buzzes.

As for the Covenant: 098 and the Diverted had not encountered any since the battle. There was a distant SDV-Class Heavy Corvette tracking them. But 098 didn't think they could pick them up; since they hadn't sent any troops in to pursue them.

098 believed that the ring's Sentinels may had been responsible for that for there was one larger Sentinel than the others; and 098 figured it may had been shielding them from any radars or sensors.

098 suddenly felt some pain go through his chest, and quickly slung his DMR over his back, and removed the makeshift bandage across his chest from where the Zealot back at the installation cut, before checking the wound.

Thel recommended that 098 clean it out with salt water -which he did. But it must had gotten reinfected during the battle -along with the wound on his back that he got when a large piece of shrapnel flying into him. That wasn't what was causing the pain, however. Because 098 had the Diverted land the Phantom near an ocean where he cleaned it out again -aswell as cleaning out the new wound on his back; and Lighter assisted 098 in finding plants and herbs that would help with healing the wounds.

It didn't take long for 098 to realize that the pain wasn't being caused by his wound -or anything related to him for that matter.

It was odd; 098 always felt unusual pain every now and again. But he didn't know why. He figured he once knew what it was. But he must had forgotten.

Whatever it was, it proved to be serious at times. Once, 098 was in an op mission when a large amount pain went through his thigh, followed by a large amount of burning.

It felt like 098 had been stabbed by an energy sword. But all of the medics and doctors examined his thigh and found nothing wrong.

Whatever it was, it almost made 098 fail the op he was on.

"Demon." 098 turned his head around to see Anve walking and stopping by the SPARTANs side.

"Do you require assistance?" 098 asked.

"No," Anve shook its head "I just wish to enjoy the view."

_Affirmative _098 nodded. He himself enjoyed the view.

The Phantom landed on a cliff, and 098 was standing by the edge; surveying the area. The area he was surveying was without a doubt the most beautiful sight he had seen on the ring so-far.

Searching the mountains for the Sentinels proved to yield nothing. And they had to refocus their search towards the ocean of the continent they were on. The ocean, however, was a tropical ocean; and the cliff that the Phantom landed on was on a large mountain overlooking the tropical environment.

But it was not enthralling enough to steal the attention of an Elite.

"Do you require assistance?" 098 sternly asked again.

Anve clicked its mandibles in annoyance before cocking its head around to face 098 "Persistent, Are you not?"

_Irrelevant _"Elaborate presence." 098 sternly commanded the Elite.

"You _are _more aggressive, I see," Anve observed "Then perhaps Thel is right to worry."

_Clarification understood. Engaging in topic; possible hostility._

"My personal emotions or feelings are irrelevant," 098 reminded Anve of what he said a couple of days ago "Hostility of past events are irrelevant. Survival is mandatory, and is all that is relevant."

"What?" Anve clicked his mandibles in annoyance while cocking its head to the side; confused as to what 098 said.

_Allow me to elaborate in Human non-military verbal wording _"My personal emotions or feelings do not matter," 098 clarified "And me being hostile over past events is not what I am aiming to do. My survival is all that matters."

Anve let out a huff turned its head back around to face the distant envioment, and click his mandibles a couple of times before saying "That is not what happened during the early units of last rotation."

_Allow__ me to elaborate _"I was angry at the time," 098 nodded "But I have managed to put that aside."

"And what _proof_ do we have that you will hold your word?" Anve questioned him.

"If I kill the Ultra, all hopes of this war ending will be diminished." 098 tried to convince the Elite.

"Emotions and take control easily," Anve warned him "You may act out of a clouded judgment."

_Negative _"If I were to act out of a clouded judgment, I would have already done so." 098 reassured the Elite.

"I certainly hope so." 098 turned his head to see the Ultra -whose name was Thel 'Lodamee- walking up and stopping by Anve's side.

It was an awkward situation that 098 immediately ignored before turning back to surveying the distant jungles; with Thel letting out a chuckle as he did so.

"How is progress, brother?" Anve asked Thel.

"Ten more moments and we should be ready to move out." Thel replied with a few clicks of its hidden mandibles.

_Ten minutes _From what 098 had picked up so-far from the Diverted chatter, moments meant minutes, units were hours, rotations were days, and cycles were years.

"Brother, if the corvette picks us up... we will be dead within moments." Anve warned.

"We have a better chance of escaping their sensors on-foot than in the Phantoms," Thel clicked its hidden mandibles in explaination "I just hope the Sentinels will continue to escort us -for I believe that they are the ones jamming the corvettes sensors."

"Once they find the Phantom-"

Thel broke Anve off before he could continue "By that time, we will hopefully be in concealed by that," Thel pointed to the jungle covered mountain "And they would not dare use weapons that would cause a large amount of damage. So they will have to send in troops of Phantoms to look for us."

Anve clicked its mandibles; trying to find the right words -but it was a Jackal who sneaked up on them that spoke first "Why do we not continue to use the Phantom?" It asked in its screechy voice. 098 saw that its name was Cek.

Thel turned to face Cek "The corvette is close now. If we use the Phantom, it will be sure to spot us. And though we may be able to escape it, it will likely send Banshees, Vampires, Liches, and Seraphs after us that will catch us. And even if they do not, the Phantom is very near to loosing energy anyway."

Cek let out an annoyed screech "I hate walking."

"Go back and get ready!" Anve snapped at Cek.

It let out an annoyed screech again, but continued back to the Phantom without issue.

"Damn creatures." Anve lightly clicked its mandibles.

"Most of them are not so annoying," Thel stated before turning around to face 098"Demon, have you spotted anything?"

_Surveying progress not completed _"I am not done yet." 098 replied; not taking his sight off of the jungles.

Thel clicked its hidden mandibles a few time before letting out a huff "Demon, if you wish to speak about-"

Thel stopped and turned as 098 quickly moved out-of-the-way of the ring's Sentinels floating past them and towards the mountain.

"Where are they going." Anve clicked its mandibles while cocking its head in confusion.

098 zoomed his visor in to focus on the area that the Sentinels were converging on.

"The big one is still there." Anve pointed out.

"Good. I believe that one is jamming the corvettes sensors." Thel clicked its hidden mandibles as it approached 098.

"What do you see?" Thel asked 098.

_Zero visual on reason for Sentinels to disengage _"Nothing." 098 replied as he steadied his zoom to see what was happening.

Then he saw it. Tall jungle trees were being knocked down, birds were flying away from the area, and a large mass of a creature was making its way through the jungle.

_Positive visual _"I have a visual." 098 reported.

"On what?" Thel asked.

Before 098 could answer, he lost he footing and looked down to see a tentacle wrapped around his leg.

"DAMN!" Thel roared as it and Anve attempted to grab 098 before he was dragged off of the cliff -but it was to late. 098 was falling; his DMR was still in his hands though, and he began batting the tentacle -not shooting less he hit himself.

The tentacle wouldn't let go no matter how hard 098 battered it, and 098 looked to see that he was about to hit the ground at a high speed _Elimination inevitable._

But before 098 hit the ground, the tentacle pulled him up; the impact of the tentacle suddenly pulling him felt like his leg was being ripped out and 098 looked to see that he was being pulled back up. And that the tentacle was leading to inside a cave on the cliff face.

098 raised his DMR -certain that he was about to face whatever it was that had him.

"THE DEMON IS STILL ALIVE!" 098 heard Anve roar.

The tentacle pulled 098 into the cave; and he saw what had him.

The tentacle was connected to a large, hulking creature with shorter tentacles coming out of its back. The large tentacle that had 098 came from where its head should have been, and it stood like an animal, but its legs were all crooked, and it walked on four tentacles that came from its ribs. 098 managed to spot the head and saw that it was bent right back, with the tentacle that had 098 coming out of its throat.

Another odd thing about the creature was the slime that was coming from it, and the green mist that surround it.

098 didn't waste any time, and began shooting the creature. The bullets hit the creature; but the creatures flesh didn't split apart, and the bullet entered the flesh like a finger being pushed into play-dough.

_Firearms ineffective. Melee combat inevitable _098 shot three more rounds before he slung his DMR over his back, and pulled out his combat knife that was sheathed on his left shoulder and readied himself to enter melee.

The creature dropped 098 and let out what 098 thought was a laugh before bringing in one of its shorter tentacles to try to grab 098. 098 simply stabbed the shorter tentacle as it got near him. But this seemed to annoy the creature, and it smashed its large tentacle into him, and sent 098 flying into the cave wall.

Pain went through 098's body. And again, he was glad that his armor had the Hydrostatic Gel _Negative physical damage._

98 landed on the caves hard ground, and quickly jumped back up -ignoring the pain- and grabbed his M6D with his left hand before shooting the creature again. Unfortunately, his 12.7x40mm M225 SAPHE Rounds just went into the creatures flesh with minimal effect.

_Possibility of elimination rising._

098 heard the sounds of a Phantom, and turned his head around to see the Diverted Phantom steadying itself around the cave's entrance with Thel on the left bay's turret.

"MOVE DEMON!" Thel roared.

098 immediately dodged out-of-the-way as plasma rippled past him and hit the creature dead on. And just as 098 thought, when he turned around to face the creature, he saw its flesh was melting off.

098 quickly grabbed two frag grenades and threw them towards the creature before turning and sprinting away.

The frag grenades exploded with the creatures flesh showering 098's back. But 098 still heard the creature roar in annoyance and the SPARTAN turned to see the creature launch its tentacle towards the cave's entrance in an attempt to destroy the Phantom.

098 countered this with using all of his momentum to jump into the way with the creature's tentacle hitting him dead on, and sending him flying out of the cave and through the Phantoms open bay before 098 grabbed onto the Phantoms right bay's door that was slightly raised, and used it to pull himself back into the Phantom.

"Disengage!" 098 yelled as he climbed back into the Phantom and ran over to Thel.

"ANVE, GO!" Thel roared as it continued to shoot into the cave with 098 coming up behind it.

Thel focused his fire on the creature's large tentacle, and melted its flesh off as it tried desperately to get its tentacle out of the cave. But before 098 knew it, the Phantom was racing away from the cliff at super speed before making its way back up to where they landed earlier.

The creature, of course, sent its tentacle after them.

_Only one possible solution to current engagement _"Give me your energy sword." 098 ordered.

The Elite didn't waste any time, and grabbed its energy sword and tossed it to 098 -all the while firing the plasma turret at the creatures tentacles.

"Disengage." 098 ordered Thel as he activated the energy sword, and jumped out of the Phantom.

098 went flying towards the creatures tentacles as the creature itself began crawling out of the cave.

Falling at high speed made 098's impact on the tentacle hard. But once again, his armor proved to be useful and he steadied himself before quickly jumping back down the tentacle a bit before using the energy sword to cut cleanly through the creatures tentacle -shorting its tentacle by half.

The creature let out a roar of annoyance -not pain- and quickly pulled what was left of its large tentacle -and 098- towards it while sending its smaller tentacles to meet 098.

098 carefully balanced himself, and used the energy sword to cut cleanly through one of the tentacles that raced towards him, before dodging slightly out-of-the-way of another tentacle before swinging the blade in to sever that tentacle.

098 turned to see how close he was now to the creature itself, and jumped onto it -grabbing its bent back head before cutting off where the large tentacle met the neck.

The creature let out a roar as its tentacle fell down towards the distant ground.

098 noticed that the ring's Sentinels were quickly floating back towards the cliff to intercept the creature 098 was on.

"INTERCEPT ME AND PREVENT MY ELIMINATION!" 098 yelled at the Sentinels as he deactivated the energy sword, sheathed it on his thigh, and jumped off of the creatures just as the Sentinels lasers hit the creature dead on; melting off its flesh.

098 turned around so his back was facing the distant ground, and just as he hoped, two Sentinels broke off of the group and began floating down towards 098 as the Monarch's Sentinels appeared to assist in eliminating the creature with the Phantom swinging back around to show plasma shooting out of the bay at the creature.

The two Sentinels closed in on 098, and he waited until he was close to hitting the ground before grabbing the Sentinels by their sides.

098 was still going at a fast speed, and the impact of him hitting the ground was hard -but not as hard as it would have been if he had not used the Sentinels to slow his descent down.

"WATCH OUT, DEMON!" 098 heard Thel roar, and looked up to see the creature falling towards him.

098 quickly jumped out-of-the-way and landed in a combat roll before turning around to see the large creature smash into the ground with its flesh flying everywhere.

At first, 098 thought the two Sentinels didn't make it. But the thought was put aside when he saw them floating behind him via his motion sensor.

"DEMON!" 098 immediately looked up to see the Phantom positioning itself over 098 so its gravity lift would immediately pick him up. 098 assisted with this, and moved under where the gravity lift was just as it activated; and he was sucked into the Phantom's bowls.

"Disengage." 098 ordered as he appeared in the Phantoms bay.

"Anve, brother, get us back up to our brothers." Thel relayed the order.

098 ran over to the side of Thel to see the creatures dead body being melted down by the Sentinel's lasers.

"If there are more of those things in the jungle, I think we should use what the Phantom has left to get us away." Thel recommenced.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 agreed.

098 watched as the creature was melted down to green and yellow goo and slime "Do you have an I.D on contact?" 098 asked.

"What?" Thel clicked its hidden mandibles in annoyance; obviously sick of 098's military slang.

_Allow me to elaborate in Human non-military verbal wording _"Do you know what that thing is?" 098 asked.

"Well," Thel began "If the what the Monarch said is true, than that is a Flood..."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to all those who have read this far (as usual)**

**Please point out any Cannon mistakes or typos I might have made in a review or P.M so I can fix it.**

**Now, gruntbdayparty, briandang, and Species Unknown are new followers. So to say thanks, I will make major side characters named after them.**

**briandang will be easy. I decided that a marine named Brian who uses the word dang a lot will work. This marine will be part of Fireteam Solitude. Fireteam Solitude is one of the UNSC _Kryponite's_ most veteran and experienced Fireteams. Brian will be the Fireteam's heavy weapons expert who says dang every time he blows something up.  
****brian, if you want any of these details changed, or do not wish to be featured, please tell me via P.M or review before I reveal in a future chapters A/N that your character will be in the next chapter.**

**I have no idea what I am going to do with the name gruntbdayparty. So I asked that gruntbdayparty contact me via review or P.M if you want to lay out the details, or if you do now wish to have a side character based after you in this FanFiction.**

**As for Species Unknown... I have no idea. These online names are so weird sometimes, lol. I have an idea, perhaps I can make a unique tribal species on the Halo Array that is 'unknown' to the UNSC forces that will come into the story soon. Or I could... I dunno just review or P.M me for details of what you want, or if you have no so desire to be in this FanFic for various reasons that I won't go into.**

**One last thing: special thanks to ****gruntbdayparty for pointing out a typo I kept making. I was spelling the word 'quite' instead of the word 'quiet'. I never noticed a difference until bday pointed it out, so thanks! You would've thought that this doc manager could pick the mistake up.**

**Thanks ****to this story's followers: ********Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, xX****Life'sAPopsicleXx, gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131.**


	11. Chapter Ten: Origins

**[ CHAPTER TEN: ORIGINS ]**

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_To thine own eyes: High Prophet of Truth._

_Dearest brother:_

_I have found one of the sacred rings. _

_You have seen correctly. My infinite wisdom has found a holy portal to one of the seven sacred Halo rings. The Great Journey's beginning is finally within out grasps.  
The coordinates to Halo will be sent to you by Fleet Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee.  
But I was hoping to suggest a reward.  
While being a God along with the holy Forerunners, I believe that I deserve the holiest of duties, which is to activate this holy ring, and start the Great Journey.  
Why I may not be who you would consider for such a holy duty. The fact that I have found this blessed ring through my wisdom should garner me some type of reward.__  
It is not if you would have the Fleet Master do it, for I assume that the Sangheili will be removed as out protectors by then._

_I also ask about the plan to relocate High Charity to this holy ring.  
If High Charity is relocated here, I would assume that you would like to proceed to activate the holy ring and start the blessed Great Journey yourself.  
I do not think that we should let personal greed outlay the important facts.  
I found the holy Halo ring, and I should be the one to start the Great Journey._

_But onto more important matters.  
I ask to the time that I must act and remove the Sangheili in this fleet from command.  
That fool of a Fleet-Master believes he can say what he wants to me and get away with it. I await the day where I can watch the ever so loyal Jiralhanae tear him to pieces, as the pathetic Sangheili deserves._

_I also wish to inform you that a Demon walks Halo's divine soil. And the attempts to kill it have been thwarted.  
I believe that the Demon is being assisted by Heretics that know the truth.  
The Heretics have since been attacked, but they and the Demon have escaped.  
The Heretics have close relations to the Fleet Master, and I am doing everything in my power to prevent him from finding out who these Heretics are._

_I await eagerly for your reply._

_By my own hands: Holy and most wise Prophet of Pity._

* * *

_To thine own eyes: Prophet of Pity._

_Dearest brother:_

_I shall put all courtesies aside, and be ever so blunt.  
You are a fool.  
You proceed to send this message with no consideration to the possibility of a Sangheili seeing this message.  
Though, I also run the risk of this message being seen by the wrong eyes, it is a risk worth taking if it is to prevent such foolishness from happening again._

_The Fleet Master has it right. I will defend him over you until the day I have to order you to have him executed.  
If there ever was a Sangheili to walk the blessed path, it would be him._

_I also know that it was Fleet Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee that located the holy ring, not you.  
It is known that we Prophets prefer to be the ones known to have discovered such holy artifacts left by our Gods.  
But to proceed and say that out wisdom discovered it will raise questions, and inflict negative opinions on us.  
Fleet Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee will be known as the worthy one that discovered the holy ring that will start the Great Journey, and lead us to our Gods and salvation._

_And you also talk of personal greed.  
Well hear this and heed it.  
You are the greedy one. You want to start the holy Great Journey when you know that you are unworthy.  
If it were up to me, you would not even walk the blessed path.  
But a part of me wants to see the holy Gods punish you personally._

_You are a pathetic excuse for a holy Prophet. And though you may be cunning, resourceful, and unquestionably loyal, you are not intelligent and not worthy of such a position.  
__I plead that you change this opinion I have on you. And I plead that you make me curse myself for ever believing such things about you.  
Prove yourself to be loyal._

_I do have plans to relocate High Charity to this holy ring. But I do not plan to tell the council and the rest of the holy Covenant of where High Charity will be heading.  
Imagine the looks on their faces when High Charity exits the Void and they see their salvation staring them in their eyes._

_As for the Demon.  
The dearest fact that a Human, let alone a Demon, walks Halo's divine soil is heresy.  
Those responsible for letting the Demon tread Halo's divine soil are to be executed immediately.  
If the Fleet-Master interferes, as he has been known to do, inform him that this is an order from me, the holy Prophet of Truth.  
If he persists further, have him seized and bought to me at High Charity when we arrive._

_I have gotten the coordinates for the holy ring, and I regret to inform you that we will not arrive for quite some time, yet.  
But when we do arrive, we but have to find the Oracle of the sacred ring, and use its infinite wisdom to start the Great Journey._

_And when the Great Journey begins, all those who walk the path will find salvation._

_I will not proceed to remove the Sangheili from their position yet.  
We need more time to get the Jiralhanae in place for the take over.  
But perhaps we can find a way that would make us justified for pushing the Sangheili away, and bringing the Jiralhanae closer._

_I would think that since you walk the path, you could have yourself quietly killed, and make it obvious that it was a Sangheili, even when it is not.  
Then since one of our protectors attacked and killed on of the holy Prophets, we will be within our rights to remove the Sangheili as out protectors. And that, in turn, will only strengthen the Jiralhanae._

_But knowing you, you will not proceed to kill yourself, even though you walk the blessed path._

_We will think of a different plan when I arrive._

_By my own hands: High Prophet of Truth._

* * *

**September 7, 2555 ****[0934 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Unknown _Sahara_-class heavy Prowler.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

"ONI interview: Incident 071824260, session 4, begin." West said as he took his seat opposite 098.

West was different after what had happened; he no longer wore his shades, no longer drunk coffee, and he no longer spoke to 098 in an unprofessional tone.

The interview room was different as-well; with guards near the door, in the room's corners, and to 098's side as well as West's side. And each guard wielded either a MA5D Individual Combat Weapon System or a M45D Tactical Shotgun.

For another precaution, 098 was in handcuffed to the table. Of course, 098 could break out if he wanted to. But he had no desire to do so -or _it _had no desire to do so.

"When we last left off," West began "you encountered the Flood for the first time."

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 replied.

West looked at 098 curiously; noticing that 098 was different from yesterday, noticed 098's calmer side, noticed that 098 was 098.

West quickly dismissed his thought and grabbed his Data-pad "Most don't survive their first encounter with the Flood."

_ SPARTANs are an exception for most topics of elimination _"Sir, inform me of a SPARTAN that has not been eliminated by the Flood." 098 countered.

Before yesterday, West may had chuckled over that statement. Now, he just simply looked at 098; emotionless "You and Sierra-117 are the only SPARTANs to have encountered the Flood." West elaborated.

_Negative. _098 wanted to say that West was wrong. But _it _did not allow him to.

"Shall we begin where we left off?" West changed the topic.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 nodded.

West let out a sigh; knowing that the chances of the POV being that of 098's was low "Whose POV?" West asked.

"Fleet-Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee." 098 conformed West's worries.

West sighed "Why do you keep going back to the damn Elites's POV all the time?"

"The Fleet-Master's POV is a priority for the coordinates of Installation 06." 098 clarified.

"You could just tell us_._" West suggested.

_Elaboration of Installation 06's coordinates will lead to immediate and mandatory elimination__._

098 knew that no one else that was aboard the UNSC _Kryptonite _knew about the location of Installation 06; he made sure that only he and "_Them_" knew. And "_They_" wouldn't tell ONI the coordinates to Halo -they had every right to refuse ONI.

"I could," Red agreed "but then you would kill me."

West immediately noticed 098's change in words, and realized that it was Red who was now speaking.

"Give us a reason _not to!_" West pleaded. This was the first time Red had seen him act with emotions since yesterday "I don't want to have you killed! You SPARTANs saved Humanity! You don't deserve to die over _some type_ of PTSD!"

_It's not PTSD _"I don't have PTSD." Red corrected West.

"Then why are you like this?!" West questioned Red "The others I have interviewed haven't told me! They haven't told me anything!"

Red also made sure that the members of the UNSC _Kryptonite_ would only tell the ONI agent what he had specified. And they would follow what Red said because the Captain of the ship would do anything to bring ONI down, and would do anything for Red. And her crew would follow her lead until death; they also felt her pain as well.

_Please, just let me tell him! _"If I tell you, I will not face execution," Red mused "But I will face something even worse. But if I continue to tell the story up to the events that led me to this, you may feel for me -because of what happened." West had a confused look on his face. But made no move to interrupt 098 "And hence, I may have an ally to help me in escaping my inevitable fate."

Red took a deep breath _It won't be that simple, will it? _"But even if I wanted to tell you now, _it _Won't let me."

"_It?_" West asked; confused and curious to what Red meant.

"You will know eventually." Red reassured West.

West took a deep breath; calming himself down "I can't help you if you don't help_ me_." He reminded Red.

_I am helping you _"I am helping you," Red reassured him "You just need to be patient; because nothing would please me more than to tell you what is happening. But _it_ won't let me."

West let out a sigh, and looked Red in the eye "This must go deeper than I thought," He realized "I will allow you to continue. But I don't see as to how Vale and Thel are related to this."

_They aren't really related to this _"It's not that they are related to this," Red clarified "in-fact, I have no idea why _it _wants me to tell their stories. I also have no idea as to why _it_ wants to wait until I reach the part about _it _before I tell you about _it_. I find it irrelevant myself. But _it_ -for some reason- does not."

West's face was scrunched up in absolute puzzlement; but Red continued nevertheless "Perhaps _it _likes the intrigue. Per- That's odd, why is _it _letting me speak of _it _like this? _WHY IS_ _IT __DOING THIS?!_"

The guards in the room all raised their weapons at Red, and one of the guards next to Red raised his assault rifle to Red's head. West, however, didn't move. He was confused about what was happening; but he seemed to have some type of inkling on what was happening.

"Stand down." West eventually ordered the guards -and they immediately did so.

"I don't know if your insane, or if it's something else entirely," West began "But if you _were_ insane, the surviving crew members of the _Kryptonite _would have told me what happened with no struggle... But they haven't explained more than up to the events of your disappearance... _(As I told them) Keyes_, _White_... e_ven Captain Jsarez_ _hasn't said anything_. So I doubt that briefing the other surviving crew members will yield answers -will they?"

_No, they won't _"No." Red confirmed.

"Then I have no choice but to listen through all of this irrelevant stuff until we reach what happens." West concluded.

_Yes. _"I think that is what _it _wants. Hopefully, _it _won't change _it's _mind." Red hoped.

"So your outbursts, aggression, and failure to comply is _not you?_" West questioned.

_No, it isn't me. _"That's right" Red nodded his head to confirm West's theory.

West sighed "For your sake, I will continue to listen to you -even though I find the Elites's side of things _uncomfortable_ -for obvious reasons; if another ONI agent was to interview you... they would not be so _understanding_."

_Acknowledged _"Acknowledged" 098 was back.

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[1335 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Fleet-Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee's Quarters, The ********Base Of Forerunner Portal, Unknown Halo Array.**

******Vale Nar 'Sarasee...**

* * *

Vale couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, couldn't stay still; for Zealot Var had been missing for over two days.

Vale was sitting on his floating chair in his command quarters; watching the holographic console that allowed him to monitor the search parties for Var, while also monitoring the SDV-Class Heavy Corvette that was searching for the Phantom that the Heretics and Demon had commandeered.

Vale's quarters were small -to say the least. It consisted of Vale's single bed; which was directly opposite of the entrance to his portable quarters, a cupboard to the right of his bed that contained simple robes as-well as his ceremonial robes, his holographic armor mannequin in the far left corner from the entrance. On the cold, steel ground was various different colored synthetic rugs -Vale didn't agree in the killing of anything other than those who deserve to die. The cold, purple walls also had curtains covering them which gave Vale a feeling of being at home. Directly to the right of the entrance was Vale's personal console that he was currently using.

Vale felt comfort in his room. But all his thoughts were on Var -and on what could have happened to him.

All he had to do was do a report on the casualties from the battle, then report back to Vale. But he had gone missing.

Vale, or course, immediately went to the Prophet of Pity who simply said "How am I -the noble and most holy Prophet of Pity- meant to know of the location of a single Sangheili?"

But Vale wasn't blind; the anti-gravity well facility was full of Jiralhanae, and the Prophet of Pity already had a personal -and unneeded- hatred towards Var.

Vale had tried on several occasions to try to speak with the Prophet of Pity. But just like when the two Jiralhanae Captain Ultras went missing, he did all in his power to avoid Vale.

Whatever had happened, Vale suspected the Prophet of Pity was behind it; and had already proceeded to send a message to the high Prophet of Truth to get his permission to forcefully retain the Prophet of Pity if it were proven that he was responsible over Var's disappearance.

Vale decided against trying to force his way into the Prophet's quarters; and just wait until the Prophet of Truth replied; and in the meantime, try to locate Var.

But the waiting greatly disturbed Vale; he couldn't sit by, knowing that his most trusted soldier was missing. Vale did, however, know that the search for Var was in the hands of his most trusted friend -Yexyn Sarasai.

Vale and Yexyn both grew up and trained together at the great Iruiru War Collage back on Sangheilos. There they forged a bond that could not be broken. And while Vale exceeded in being a prime tactical commander and strategic genius, Yexyn proved to be one of the best swordsman on Sanghelios -hence the -ai- suffix.

They both graduated with the top skills in the collage; and were separated into different fleets; but they kept close ties, and eventually became reunited when Vale became a Fleet-Master and Yexyn chose to pursue a naval command other than becoming a General, and became a Ship-Master himself.

But Vale doubted that he would have ever been in the great position he was in now if he did not become Kaidon -he would likely had remained a Ship-Master instead. And he became Kaidon because of his intellect, boldness, and quick thinking.

Vale's uncle -or father, but Vale hoped not- became Kaidon. And Vale was the only one to see his uncle -Rsel 'Sarasee- as he truly was -a coward with no honor.

Vale could have been wrong, but he made his move anyway. And he proved to be correct...

* * *

**January 24, 2509 ****[2647 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Kaidon's Quarters, Sarasee Keep, State Of Sarasee, Yermo, Sanghelios.**

**Vale 'Sarasee...**

* * *

"No! _Please!_" Kaidon Rsel ' Sarasee begged for his life as Vale lowered his energy sword to the cowards neck.

_How could such a coward exist?_

Vale said nothing, and did nothing as the Kaidon's guards came barging into the room.

One of the guards parted his mandibles and roared "What is this?!"

The guard was not roaring at Vale, but the sight of the Kaidon on the floor; begging for his life.

_I shall show the Elders their mistake _"Tell the Elders to remove themselves from their slumber, and make haste to witness me take action when they did not." Vale told the guards who both looked at each other.

"Go, brother." One of the guards nodded to his partner as he turned back around to face Vale while the other guard hurried out of the room.

"Save me!" The Kaidon pleaded to the guard as the guard simply stood there; keeping his energy stave lowered.

_Is he but a fool as well? Does the Kaidon not know of what happens in this situation _"Do you know nothing of your own traditions?" Vale questioned the Kaidon as he let his energy sword slight touch the Kaidon's flesh before he bought it away in order to prevent any further damage; leaving a small burn mark where the blade touched the Kaidon's skin.

The Kaidon, of course, did not answer and proceeded to continue pleading for his life until another one of Vale's uncles -Yue 'Sarasee- came rushing into the room with his own personal guards right behind him.

"_Vale?!_" Yue parted his Mandibles and exclaimed "What is the meaning of this?!

_It is but only justice_ "I decided to act when the Elders did not proceed to do so." Vale explained his actions.

"It is not in your jurisdiction to do so." Yue reminded Vale with an aggressive snap of his mandibles.

_I may have just saved this Lineage a large amount of dishonor. Why do you not see this? _"I acted when no Elder proceeded to do so," Vale explained as another Elder -Celra 'Sarasee- came rushing into the room "If I did not act, only the Forerunners know what dishonor this coward may have done."

"Brothers, what is this?" Celra asked.

"Brother Vale has taken it upon himself to remove the apparent _weak_ Kaidon from his position." Yue elaborated to Celra.

_Apparent? is him not on the floor with his hands in the air not evidence enough of him being a coward?_

"Weak?" Celra put his hands on his lower mandibles as if trying to figure something out.

_His pleading may help support my claim. Why has he stopped? _Out of all the time of talking, the Kaidon had remained silent. Vale figured he must have realized that he was dead; but he proceeded to begin pleading a mere mini-moment after the thought came into Vale's mind.

"Help me, brothers." The Kaidon pleaded as two more Elders rushed into the room.

"We are not your brothers." Celra snapped his mandibles at the Kaidon.

_Now they see._

"What is happening, brothers?" One of the new Elders by the name of Isan 'Sarasee asked.

"Brother Vale has bested the Kaidon." Yue elaborated to the two new Elders that had joined them.

"You overwhelmed the Kaidon yourself?" One of the Elders name Ji 'Sarasee questioned Vale while cocking his head in puzzlement and curiosity.

_Yes. Yes I did. _"It was not easy, holy Elders. And I in no way took him off guard." Vale explained as he bought his blade closer to the Kaidon's neck; ready to strike at any moment.

"How is your combat experience, young one?" Isan curiously clicked his mandibles.

_I hold little experience. This will not go good for the Kaidon's reputation -if his pleading did not already sentence his image to dishonor _"I have the 'ee' to my name. But I am but a Minor in the Covenant military," Vale elaborated "But I have been known to be one of the best graduates from the great Iruiru War Collage. But that is more in tactics and strategic intelligence rather than combat experience. But my combat tutor believes I will rise in the ranks much faster than average."

Vale hadn't had his hopes up about his achievements in the War Collage being known throughout the State. It was still annoying that Yue -the one Vale hoped was his father the most- had no idea. And did not proceed to find out about Vale's graduation stats.

"A young Minor defeating a Kaidon of the Field Marshal rank in combat?" Ji mused with his hand on his lower mandibles as the last of the Elders hurried into the room.

"What do my eyes behold?!" One of the new three Elders -Rel 'Sarasee- exclaimed.

"What do you think?" Another one of the new Elders name Zarhal 'Sarasee snapped his mandibles at Rel.

"Many things, brother." Rel calmly replied.

"Help me." The Kaidon pleaded again.

"Oh, _I see!_" Rel finally realized what was happening.

"How could we be so foolish." Ji shamefully said.

Most of the other Elders mumbled in agreements.

_This is belaying the inevitable _"We all make mistakes, holy Elders," Vale began as he quickly but swiftly pushed his energy sword through the Kaidon's neck "But your past mistakes matter little as long as you do all in your possible power to prevent those mistakes from happening again." Vale swiftly swiped his blade out of the Kaidon's neck as purple blood began pouring out of his wounds and mouth, and deactivated his energy sword and sheathed it on his left thigh.

"Spoken masterfully, Vale," Yue nodded as he approached Vale and placed his right hand on Vale's shoulder "I do not believe that one so talented should be executed over our sins."

The Elders muttered in agreement.

_So I shall survive this _Vale highly thought that his life would be ended for his actions. And if it were to happen, he would embrace hid death with honor.

"I still will not forgive hims for one thing." Isan muttered.

Yue immediately removed his hand from Vale's shoulder and snapped around to face the Elder who was speaking out "What did you say, brother?" He sternly asked Isan.

_Has enough blood not been spilled?_

"He inflicted on us the multiple rotations of hard political duties." Isan jested with the other Elders -even Yue- chuckling at his comment.

_But a friendly jest. Thank the Gods no more blood needs to be spilled over senseless violence.  
_

"A just punishment for our blindness." Yue happily clicked his mandibles as Vale came up besides him.

_Blindness? I think not _"Not blindness, holy Elders," Vale shook his head "Even I was took under the spell of his deceiving words," Vale turned and began pointing at the Kaidon's bloodied body "Sooner or later you would have seen through his lies. But perhaps my young age allowed me to see his lies before you."

The Elders chuckled at what Vale had just said.

Normally Sangheili at Vale's age would not interest themselves in politics. Vale, however, always kept a keen eye on anything political. Vale was happy he did so, and he was sure that the Elders were happy as well.

Yue turned back around to face Vale "You would make a fine Elder," He placed a reassuring hand on Vale's shoulder _ He says that so bluntly_ "And a better Kaidon."

The Elders muttered in agreement.

_Do they really all agree that I will make a fine politic?_

"Elder Yue -with all do respect- things have not reached the time to speak of such things," Vale reminded the Elders as he turned to look at the Kaidon's body again _He knew someone was coming. He was shocked when he saw me, yes. But he still proceeded to spring multiple traps he had set up. How could he get so far when he is so weak? _"But I appreciate your beliefs in me."

"Well of course!" Celra broke in; clicking his mandibles in excitement "You, brother, have saved us a great deal of dishonor!"

_It is good to know that my actions are appreciated rather than hated._

"Yes," Yue agreed with a couple of the other Elders saying 'yes' at the same time "Let the Sarasee Lineage never fall under the deception of lies ever again!"

"Guards, put his body in a Phantom and dump him in the sea," Ji ordered the guards "It is going to be a busy couple of days."

Vale turned around and took one last look at the Kaidons body before the guards picked the body up and made their way out of the room.

_If I am to become Kaidon in the future, I will make sure I keep my word, and never lie. And I will use this as an example of the weak making lies. I may have fallen for the Kaidon's lies at first; but I will make sure I never fall for anyone's lies again..._

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[1401 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Fleet-Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee's Quarters, The ********Base Of Forerunner Portal, Unknown Halo Array.**

**Vale Nar 'Sarasee...**

* * *

"Fleet-Master!"

Vale quickly came to his senses and looked away from his console to see General Trerx 'Huldamee standing in the doorway.

_Have they found Var? The Heretics? _"What is it, brother?" Vale calmly asked as he docked his floating chair in its port to stable it, and hop off of it "Have you found Zealot Var? Or the Heretics?"

"We have found and engaged the Heretics but that is not the problem, brother," Trerx informed Vale as he made his way to his armor stand _Then what is it? "_We have detected a rupture in the Void. And have spotted a Human Ship is above the sacred ring."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I believe thanks are unnecessary for those who have read this far. But it is a mandatory thing for an author to do, and I find no problem with saying a simple thanks to my readers. Thanks!  
**

**I am soooo sorry for the long prologue to this chapter. And I know that it has taken up a lot of this chapter's space. But the prologue also sets a few events in motion. And it shows the Prophets scheming for the Elites downfall that will happen years later.**

**Also, I noticed that it is highly likely that not all Prophets knew about the Humans being the Reclaimers, and the Hierarchs scheming to remove the Elites from their position. But Pity is pretty high up in the Prophet's ranks. And I plan on making a back story as to how Pity knows about such deep and secret plans.**

**Also, two more Followers! TheDragonGod66 and Fleightfire. I have no idea on what I am going to do for characters for these guys. And I ask that they P.M me or leave a review as to details. If they don't, I will have to figure something out.**

**Next chapter will have some new major side characters appear near the end of it.**

**There is Timmy who is the UNSC _Kryptonite's _A.I.  
Timmy's avatar will be that of a middle-aged man wearing some very basic 21st century clothes.  
Timmy will be blunt; but friendly towards people. He never jokes, is always straight up, and supportive to the crew members.  
Timmy is based after The Timmynator.**

**There is also Lance Corporal Brian Davis who is who is the heavy weapons specialist of Fireteam Solitude. Brian is young, has a habit of making witty remarks and jokes -and all jokes he makes are funny as hell to his comrades, he is serious at serious times, very loyal to Solitude's leader and never questions him.  
Brian also has a habit of saying 'Dang' every time something big happens, or he blows something up.  
Brian Davis is based after briandang131**

**As always, please leave a review for I get excited to see someone has taken the time to review my work. And please tell me for any typos or lore mistakes I may have made and I will immediately correct them as-well as credit you in the next chapter for assisting me.**

**Thanks to this story's followers: ****************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, xX****Life'sAPopsicleXx, gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire.**


	12. Chapter Eleven: Arrival

**[ CHAPTER ELEVEN: ARRIVAL ]**

* * *

_To thine own eyes: Major Thel 'Lodamee._

_Major, It has come to the high council's attention that you have failed to kill the Demon known as the Master chief, and lived to speak of it._

_The Humans are a blight. A disease that must be cleansed from this holy galaxy, that was left to us by the blessed Gods.  
But these Demons pose a great threat to the Covenant, and the Great Journey.  
And the matter that you have not killed one when you were in combat with it, and lived, alarms the high council greatly._

_Supreme Commander Luro 'Taralumee will immediately redirect the Third Fleet of Glorious Consequence back to High Charity where you will be judged by the high council for your high heresy.  
__Failure__ for the Supreme Commander to comply will result in his immediate removal from the blessed path, and sentencing to execution._

_Your failure, Major, will have a large amount of consequence on you.  
I have no doubt that your heresy will stay your feet on the Great Journey.  
And a chance to redeem yourself as Arbiter may never come, for your heresy is too great, and you are too minor on the blessed path for us to give such a position away._

_We await your arrival at High Charity, where we will sentence you to whatever fate the council deems necessary._

_By my own hands: High Prophet of Mercy._

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[1335 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Covenant ****Type-52 troop carrier, Unknown Location, Unknown Halo Array.**

******Red-098...**

* * *

"Can I have my energy sword back?" Thel asked while 098 watched as the hulking creature -that Thel believes was a Flood combat form- was finally melted down into nothing but yellow and green goo, matter, and gore.

098 immediately took the energy sword on his thigh and passed it to Thel; all the while keeping his DMR trained on the dead creature.

"It is but dead, you know." Thel reminded 098 with a few clicks of its hidden mandibles as it took one hand off of the plasma turret to grab its sword and sheath it.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 finally lowered his DMR and slung it back over his back with the sound of magnets connecting together reassuring him that his weapon was secure.

The Sentinels melting down the Flood combat forms body began to leave it, with the Monarch's Sentinels making their way up to the cliff face with the rest of the Diverted force on, and the ring's Sentinels splitting up with some going up to the cliff, and others going towards where the other Flood creature was that 098 first spotted before he was dragged down the cliff.

"Demon, assist with getting the soldiers in." Thel told 098 as it left the plasma turret and made its way towards the entrance to the Phantom's cockpit.

_Affirmative. _098 didn't reply -for Thel was out of earshot- and went over to the gravity lift that was in the middle of the Phantom's bay before using it to be lowered to the cliffs ground -where all the Diverted forces and the bigger Sentinel were waiting.

"Reclaimer, what happened?" An Elite named Suras 'Johanamee questioned him.

Suras was the only Elite left of the group that called 098 a 'Reclaimer'. 098 figured this was a good thing since the Monarch stated the Reclaimers were the inheritors to their Gods creations. And while basically all of the Diverted no longer worshiped the Forerunners; Suras still did, which meant that it thought 098 as its leader. 098 figured out earlier that he was safe from this particular Elite -if any trouble between him and the Diverted was to go down.

_Allow me to elaborate _"Possible contact and engagement with Alien species -designated Flood: combat form. Immediate EVAC is priority one." 098 explained and realized too late that the alien soldiers wouldn't have known what he said.

"What?" Freyn asked; cocking its head in puzzlement while twitching its mandibles.

___Allow me to elaborate in Human non-military verbal wording_ "We made contact and engaged a possible Flood combat form; and us leaving this area is the main focus at the moment." 098 calmly clarified.

"I still not get it." A Grunt by the name of Ulpad shrugged with an Elite by the name of Jol 'Turasee slapping the Grunt over the head in annoyance of the small creature.

_Disengaging from irrelevant elaboration._

098 turned when he heard the hovering of the Monarch's 4 Sentinels -as well as seeing their blips on his motion sensor.

"Embark on the Type-52 troop carrier." 098 pointed at the Phantom with the Sentinels immediately doing what he told them to before 098 turned back around to face the Diverted soldiers that had gathered around him "Embark-"

"DEMON!" Thel roared before 098 could continue.

_Possible red status situation _098 quickly looked up to see Thel was peering out of the Phantom's left bay door; looking down at them.

"The corvette has spotted us!" It roared again "It is descending on us! Embark the Phantom _NOW!_"

_SDV-Class Heavy Corvette: Roles: Advance reconnaissance, ship-to-ship warfare, ground assault, aerial support. Length: 956 meters. Width: 399 Meters. Height: 175 Meters. Known armaments: 6 full-sized plasma torpedoes, 12 pulse laser turrets. Threat level: high. _

098 quickly turned back to face the Diverted soldiers _Need assistance of single Diverted Minor class Elite in gathering Type-52 Guided Munitions Launcher; possibility of Lighter Than Some resisting embarking order: average_ "Embark the Type-52 troop carrier, now!" He ordered before turning and pointing at Freyn "Assist me in gathering the T52 GML." 098 rushed over to where the Diverted had stacked all of their supplies when they were disembarked the Phantom; Freyn right behind him.

098 chose Freyn because it only had a plasma rifle and pistol on its thigh; allowing it to have one plasma launcher on its back while carrying two more in its hands. 098 figured that they could save 5 of the 7 plasma launchers.

098 came to a sudden stop near the stockpile, and immediately ignored all of the plasma grenades, rifles, carbines, pistols, and other weapons and equipment that could useful later, and quickly picked up a plasma launcher and tossed it to Freyn before picking up two more -one in each hand- while Freyn slung the plasma launcher 098 tossed it over its back before picking up two more -one in each hand- and making its way towards the Phantom's gravity lift.

098 quickly turned to see that the Jackal named Cek, and the Elite named Suras were having trouble with Lighter.

_Possibility of Lighter Than Some resisting embarking order: Certain._

The Huragok seemed to be freaked out by all of the sudden commotion, and didn't want to go into the Phantom. And it didn't look like Cek and Suras -now joined by another Jackal named Kri- were getting very far with trying to push Lighter in.

"WE NEED TO GO_ NOW!_" Thel roared at the units still on the ground.

_Possible physical engagement essential to Lighter Than Some's survival _098 went at full speed -slower than usual due to him holding the plasma launchers- and waved the Diverted soldiers struggling with the Huragok out-of-the-way as he slammed into the Huragok; with the impact being so hard that it knocked Lighter a few feet and under the gravity life where it floated into the Phantom's bowls with a scared shriek.

"Embark! Now!" 098 ordered the last of the Diverted soldiers as he floated up into the Phantom; with Cek, Kri, Suras, and Freyn appearing after him but moments later.

"GO!" Thel roared as it hurried towards the cockpit "And raise the bay doors!"

098 had to brace himself as the Phantom made a sharp turn before he dropped one of the plasma launchers, and made his way to where the gap in the Phantom's right bay door will be. And looked out to analyze the situation.

The corvette was speeding after them. And dozens of aircraft that 098's HUD identified as Seraphs, Banshees, Vampires, and Liches were pouring out of the corvette's hangers.

098 turned when he heard an electronic crackling, and saw that it was just Freyn breaking the turret off of the Phantom's left bay door so it had room to shoot at pursuing aircraft as-well.

"Make room." Kri hissed at 098 as it positioned itself -equipped with a plasma launcher- next to 098.

098 made room -while ignoring Kri's aggression- and observed the ring's Sentinels -including the large one that was jamming the corvette's sensors and radars- making their way towards the corvette.

"They will not defeat an adversary of that size." Kri stated as it steadied its weapon.

And just as Kri said that: the tops of distant Forerunner towers shifted open to have thousands of Sentinels pour out.

Kri let out a happy screech but just after he did, the corvette opened fire with its plasma and pulse turrets -obliterating the swarms of Sentinels.

_Effective weapon against Sentinel shields: Plasma. Past theories confirmed._

Kri let out a screech that was mixed with horror, anger, annoyance, and fear; with the Elites letting out roars of rage and annoyance as-well.

_Possibility of elimination: extremely high._

* * *

**Reh 'Ivantee...**

* * *

The Phantom that contained the Heretics and Demons must had been wavering -for its speed was not fast enough to escape Ship-Master Reh 'Ivantee's wraith.

Heretics were a diversion along the Great Journey; a disease as bad as the Humans. They had to be stopped, of course; and Reh would do so willingly; but not without annoyance.

"Sentinels!" One of Reh's sensor officers by the name of Ike 'Tumlanee shouted with his mandibles twitching nervously.

"The peaks of certain Forerunner towers are shifting to open up. That is where the Sentinels are making haste from." Another one of Reh's sensor officers -Uro 'Nuldunee- added.

_Are they the holy servants of out Gods? Or the Heretic Oracle? _"Are they making haste towards us, brothers?" Reh asked Ike with a couple of clicks of his mandibles.

"Yes, Ship-Master." He nodded; not taking his eyes off of the controls.

_Then me must act with haste less they are Heretics _"Then fire at will. Destroy them while they are hunched together! But make sure they are far enough away from the tower that our bombardment will not hit the towers!" Reh ordered with a snap of his mandibles; with the sounds of turrets being fired throughout the ship immediately after his order was given; signalling that they were complying.

"Impact!" Reh's weapons status officer called Hulna 'Lodamee reported; keeping his eyes on the controls "The Heretic Sentinels are falling with such grace to put our minds at ease."

_Excellent! _"Continue, brothers, with the hard pressure!" Reh slammed his gloved hand down on his command chair's soft armrest "Destroy the Heretic Sentinels! Then destroy the Heretics and Demon!"

Reh's bridge crew let out roars of agreement and continued to go about their business; monitoring the sensors, commanding the turret teams, piloting the corvette, and giving orders to the crew around the ship.

"Ship-Master, the Sentinels are going down at an acceptable rate," One of Reh's external activity officer by the name of Frel 'Duldamee reported in "But they are endless. I do not believe we can shift the _Linear Grace's _fire from the Sentinels."

_Then we do not have to worry about the aerial engagement being hit by out flak _"Send forth all aerial units, brothers," Reh ordered with a quick snap of his mandibles "Bring the Heretics down!"

The bridge was suddenly full with the sounds of the bridge crew clicking their mandibles and roaring in approval.

"Orders sent, Ship-Master." Reh's communications officers named Hev 'Berakee reported.

_Perfect. I have been blessed with such a competent crew _"I shall make the Prophet's reward for the Heretics death universal to this entire crew." Thel assured the bridge crew with multiple excited roars telling him that he had made the days of quite a few of his brothers _There is no better feeling for a leader, than to know that his men love him._

"Many Banshees are being shot down by plasma launchers within the Phantom," Frel reported "But the Liches, Vampires, and Seraphs are causing extensive damage."

_We need to pull all non shielded aerial forces out _"Pull the Banshees back. I do not wish any brothers to die in necessary fashion." Reh ordered.

"Order sent, Ship-Master." Hev reported.

_Such haste puts my mind at ease in such a tension stricken time. I am but only blessed by the holy Forerunners._

"Sentinels are still persisting to engage us." Uro reported.

_It is best for me to inform him that I do not need to know this knowledge at such a rate _"Inform me if anything changes; but not an update on facts I already know, brother." Reh calmly told him.

"Yes, Ship-Master, forgive me, Ship-Master." Uro apologized with a nervous twitch of his mandibles.

_I best set his conscience at ease _"There is no need to apologize." Reh calmly told him "You-"

"IMPACT!" Hulna roared; interrupting Reh "The Heretic's Phantom is damaged and is going down."

_Excellent_ "Pull the aerial units back," Thel exciting clicked his mandibles "We shall destroy the crash site with a bombardment of our flak."

"Impossible," Ike quickly broke in "The Heretics managed to crash their Phantom near a holy Forerunner complex within the dark depths of the jungle. Bombardment may damage the God's complex."

_This makes thing difficult. _

"They must have been planning this." Hev mused.

_Of course! They will be safe in such a holy location _"Agreed," Reh nodded "There is no doubt in my mind that they were planning this."

"Orders, Ship-Master?" Hev asked.

"Can our aerial units finish off the Heretics?" Reh asked.

"No, Ship-Master," Ike answered as he changed the large hologram of the nearby jungles and mountains in the bridge's center to a hologram of the crash site "The Heretics crashed right next to a ramp that leads to a large bunker built into the complex's walls. They but only need to exit the Phantom's right side and make haste up the ramp that leads to the bunker, and they would be under cover."

"Our Banshees are the only aerial units that are able to maneuver to reach them," Uro added "But the plasma launchers will bring them down with deadly grace before they could act."

"Shooting within the gap that is in between the Phantom and the bunker's ramp is also impossible at the angle." Ike added.

_We need to prevent the deaths of brothers if we can _"Pull all aerial units save the Liches back," Reh ordered "The Vampires and Seraphs are to maintain sentry and bombard any Heretic they see -their flak shall not damage the complex. The Banshees are at risk; pull them back. Also send in Wraiths with haste to provide supporting bombardment that shall not damage the complex _(I may have to send some of our minor brothers to their death) _And gather all of the Yanme'e, Mgalekgolo and Kig-Yar aboard and send them with much haste to the crash site. The Kig-Yar are to provide sniper support while the slave forces move in with haste. They are but slaves and mercenaries... but their deaths shall secure their place along the holy Great Journey.

"Let them earn their holy spot along the blessed Great Journey." Hev agreed with a few clicks of his mandibles as he sent the orders.

_I must know of what my men shall face _"What of the surviving Heretics?" Reh asked his sensor officers.

"Impact was but minor," Uro reported "The Phantom is damaged beyond further use without repair. But from what the aerial units have reported, the entire Heretic force -along with the Demon- survived the crash."

_Their tactical minds is not helping with my tension _"Continue with my previous orders with haste," Reh ordered "By the hours end, the Heretics will be dead!"

* * *

**Thel 'Lodamee...**

* * *

Thel heard a distant voice calling his name. He couldn't make out whose voice it was. But it was definitely Sangheili.

"Brother?! Come to your senses!" The voice roared at Thel.

_Anve? Oh preserve me _Thel immediately opened his eyes to see nothing but cracks along his visor "What happened?" Thel asked as he removed his helmet to see that he was slumped in the cockpit's co-pilot's seat with the Phantom's consoles red in alerts and warnings, the heat of a small fire from his console waving over his face, and the sound of electronic static of the consoles going haywire in his mind.

"We were hit and the impact from the attack sent your head into the consoles -knocking you out." Anve explained as he helped Thel out of his chair.

_So we have crashed? But where? _"Did we reach the facility?" Thel asked as he threw his damaged helmet away and grabbed his carbine from its position next to his chair.

"Yes, brother," Anve nodded "We are so close to it that we can disembark the Phantom and go straight to cover without the chance of being hit."

_How fortunate. Wait... casualties _"Did we all make it?" Thel asked as he began to slowly make his way up the Phantom's ramp that connected the cockpit to the bay.

"Yes," Thel heard Anve click his mandibles from behind him "They are all setting up a defensive position in a small bunker within the compound of the facility. I stayed behind in an attempt to wake you from your forced slumber before the attacking aircraft destroy the wreckage."

_Our fortune is great. Let us hope it can stay that way _"The pursuers?" Thel asked as he entered the wrecked bay with Anve right behind him.

"The Banshees are heading back to the corvette," Anve began as they made their way to the Phantom bay's right door "The Vampires and Seraphs have pulled back, but have not left the area. The Liches are raised above the facility -acting as sentries."

"Anything else, brother?" Thel asked as he prepared to leap out of the Phantom and hurry to the bunker.

"No." Anve shook his head as he too prepared to leap out of the Phantom.

By what Thel could see, the Phantom hit the ground and continued moving along the jungle's floor for a few mini-moments before stopping. Trees were knocked down by the crash which left a large opening for Covenant aircraft to attack them. But the nearby Forerunner facility shadowed the crash site with its overbearing design. And the compound around the facility was rather large with towers, bunkers, and open buildings that were like back at the anti-gravity well facility. But there was no perimeter walls around the compound which posed a problem for Thel and the Diverted.

The bunker that the Demon and the rest of the Diverted force was held up in was built into the exterior wall of the facility, with it being built above the ground with a ramp leading up to it. Thankfully, the ramp was just in reach from the Phantom.

"Make haste. Do not stop if I am by chance hit." Thel told Anve as he slung his carbine over his back and leaped out of the Phantom's bay; hitting the ground and entering a combat roll before exiting the roll and racing up the ramp and into the bunker with Anve right behind him and no hostile plasma coming their way.

"You made it." Freyn said as Thel took his carbine off of his back and went over to the opening in the bunkers wall that showed the ring's Sentinels were no longer exiting the towers -they were likely all destroyed, or they retreated. Thel also saw the corvette speeding over the mountain they were on earlier, and a large amount of Phantom's leaving its hangers _They are sending in too many Phantoms for it to be a couple of simple strike teams._

Thel turned around to face the Demon "Demon, come and behold this." Thel waved the creature over with it immediately complying.

"What do you see?" Thel asked the Demon as it looked out of the opening.

From what Thel knew: the Demon could manipulate its visor to see in the distance. The eye covers that Sangheili had allowed this as-well. Though, it was limited with only allowing the Sangheili to zoom with the scope of their weapons that were hooked up to the Sangheili's interface. The weapons ammo and other stats would display as soon as the Sangheili scans his finger along a tiny sensor along each Covenant weapon which would show the stats of the weapon on the Sangheili's interface. This system was also meant to prevent enemies from using the weapons, but the Humans must had bypass it for Thel had seen Human soldiers wielding Covenant weapons. Thel believed that the Humans had a similar system for their helmet's interfaces, but was must more diverse.

"17 Type-52 class troop carriers. Luggage: Unknown. Drones are flying around the Phantoms." The demon reported.

_What did the damn thing say? _"What?" Thel clicked his mandibles in annoyance _Does this damn creature not learn?_

"I see 17 Phantoms and I do not know what they are carrying; but I see Drones flying around the Phantoms." The Demon explained; with Thel still not understanding what '_Drones_' were.

_What is a damn Drone? For the sake's of the dead Forerunners! Why is this Demon so cryptic? _"Drones?" Thel asked in annoyance.

"Designated: Yanme'e." The Demon clarified as it backed away from the opening "Phantom's ETA 2 minutes," _I still have no idea what you are speaking! _Thel was about to ask what the Demon was talking about now, when it continued "Or: The Phantoms will be here in two moments."

_Is it but jesting? _Thel quickly set the thought aside and turned to address his men that were converging around him "brothers," Thel began "We are going to die _(I must be blunt) _The Sentinels of this ring cannot assist us -even if they but tried again, the corvette would only destroy them again."

The Diverted began mumble in worried tones with the Unggoy barking in terror, the Kig-Yar screeching in annoyance about how they just wished the Covenant never found their home-world, and the Sangheili clicking and twitching their mandibles in fear of the coming eternal darkness.

_They do not deserve such a dark fate. Why has our fortune run out? _"I understand you may be in fear," Thel continued as he placed a reassuring hand on Anve's shaking shoulder "I am scared too."

Jol began shaking terribly "_I do not wish to die!_" He cried in fear "_I do not want to face the eternal darkness!_"

Thel had never witnessed the tears of a Sangheili before. It was a fearful alien site _The Prophet's lies have pushed us down to nothing but blubbering cowards _Thel was not mad at Jol for his fear. All Sangheili lived on the belief that the darkness of death was only temporarily. And that if you walked the blessed path, you will see paradise.

"_I want to see our home!_" Jol cried as he quickly leaned against a nearby wall to support himself "_I want to feel my wife's embrace with the heat of Sanghelio's sun on my face!_"

"Coward!" Cek hissed at Jol with Freyn landing a hit across the Jackals beak before he went over and placed a hand on Jol's shaking shoulder with Thel and the rest of the Sangheili -even the Huragok- moving over to support him as-well.

"Brother," Anve said "We are with you to the end."

The Huragok let out a little moan as it stroked Jol with its tentacles _How could we be blinded to harm such peaceful and caring creatures? _

"The Phantoms are here." The Demon announced as it took cover by the opening with Thel and the Diverted soldiers breaking up and taking cover as-well.

_So the end to our journey begins so soon _"BROTHERS!" Thel roared "IF WE ARE TO DIE! LET US DIE WITH HONOR!"

All of the Diverted -even the Kig-Yar and Unggoy and even Jol- roared in agreement _Let us face our death with the honor we deserve._

The Demon peered out of cover and quickly ducked back in when a volley of plasma hit the bunker's walls "Yanme'e and Mgalekgolo," The Demon reported "Nothing else but a few Kig-Yar in the distance that will provide sniper support. I recommend keeping your heads down."

_A wise tactical move by the Ship-Master of that corvette._

Plasma began to explode on the bunker's walls as the sound of Yanme'e chirping and screeching became closer and closer until about 5 Yanme'e came through the opening with the entire Diverted force opening fire.

_DAMN STUPID CREATURES! _Thel immediately dropped his plasma rifle and drew his energy sword before swinging it up and cutting a passing Yanme'e in-half with its insect innards spilling all over Thel and his armor.

Thel turned to see another Yanme'e pick up a Unggoy off of the ground and snap its little neck before a projectile from the Demon hit the insect; splitting it apart in a mist of green flesh and blood.

More and more Yanme'e flooded into the bunker with plasma, needler, Human projectiles, and Sentinel lasers appearing all around the small bunker _This is chaos! _"WATCH YOUR FIRE!" Thel roared above the sounds of gunfire and Yanme'e screeching.

Suddenly, before things could turn into even more chaos, a blinding light and a deafening sound filled the bunker with the sounds of the Demon shooting with its pistol and the dying screeches of the Yanme'e.

_What... hap- happened! _Thel's head was ringing with the sound of a bang flashing through his mind and his eyes gradually began to stop seeing white.

"STAY DOWN!" The Demon yelled over the sounds of gunfire, the fearful shrieking of the Huragok, and screeching of dying Yanme'e as Thel began to see the dead bodies of at least a dozen Yanme'e along with the dead bodies of Cek who had a gaping hole in his head from where -what Thel assumed- a needler projectile hit his head and exploded. A Unggoy by the name of Grepyap who had its neck broken by a Yanme'e. And a destroyed Sentinel that seemed to had been pulled apart by the Yanme'e.

"What happened?" Thel asked as he quickly helped Anve -who still couldn't see- back into cover.

"Stun grenade." The Demon replied.

_A stun grenade? Rek would have said 'that explains a lot' _

"Damn insects got me!" Jol roared.

_What? _Thel turned around in a panic to see Jol had a lot of scratches along the parts of his body that were not covered by armor, his lower right mandibles was ripped off and blood was gushing from the wound, At least three of his fingers were missing, and there was a large plasma wound in his gut.

_WHY IS THE UNIVERSE SO IRONIC! WHY IS EVERYTHING A JEST TO IT! _Thel immediately crawled over to Jol who was bleeding profusely "Brother." Thel sadly said as he checked Jol's wounds with the sounds of the Mgalekgolo shooting at the bunker again; but suddenly, there was a hissing sound and Thel turned to see a hard-light shield was covering the opening.

There was no terminal in the bunker, so Thel came to one conclusion _The Monitor! It guards us!_

"We may let live, brother." Freyn happily clicked his mandibles as the Demon hurried over to where Jol and Thel were and began to tear the cloth of his ammo pouches.

"This will only stop the bleeding." It stated as it began to patch up some of Jol's more serious wounds.

"Thank you, Demon." Jol weakly nodded his head at the Demon _This is an odd and uncomfortable situation. But I am glad of its assistance._

Thel and the other Diverted soldiers had wound as well. Each Diverted soldier had scratches large and small along their bodies, but many had more serious wounds. A Unggoy appeared to be missing one of his fingers and was huddled in a corner with his kin comforting it. Kri had many of its spines along its body torn, along with a large scratch along its head. Freyn had a large scratch along his neck and another large scratch across his arm which appeared to be giving him much pain since he was holding it tightly. Another Unggoy's left leg was greatly dislocated, but it was an Ultra, and seemed to be holding itself together really well for a Unggoy. Anve had only minor scratches, but seemed to be really dizzy from the stun grenade. The Huragok seemed okay since it was mostly cowering in a corner, but it was missing half of one of its tentacles, and had a few scratches over it. Suras was fine with only a few scratches; Thel guessed he got less attacked by his position. Another Unggoy was cradling a broken arm, but seemed more focused on kicking the dead Yanme'e that broke his arm than focusing on the pain. The rest of the Unggoy seemed fine with the Sangheili, Demon, and Kig-Yar being the main focus of the Yanme'e. The Demon was fine due to the fact that it was heavily armored in all places. Thel still had no idea how it could move around in such armor.

Despite the hard-light shields, the Mgalekgolo seemed to be still bombarding the bunker.

A thought suddenly came to Thel _The entrance! _Thel quickly got up from his crouched position next to Jol, and quickly rushed around a corner and into the corridor that led to the bunker's entrance to see a hard-light shield was over the entrance as-well _Our fortune has come back!_

"Ultra?" Jol called.

_Oh, yes. I was in a hurry _"I shall be with you in a moment." Thel answered as he turned and made his way back into the depths of the bunker.

"You were off in a hurry," Jol observed "What was the problem?"

"I was checking the entrance to this bunker," Thel explained his quick panic as he crouched back near Jol -who was now be tended to by Suras as-well "Now you should not speak -less you harm yourself."

Jol happily clicked his mandibles and nodded before he rested his head back.

"So, how shall we leave this place?" Freyn asked as Thel's motion sensor showed that he appeared to be looking out of the opening -observing the outside enemy forces.

_If only I knew _"I do not know." Thel said as the Demon finished tending to Jol and got up and went over to tend to the other wounded Diverted soldiers.

"Well I do," Freyn excitingly announced "We need not do anything; for a Human ship has just exited the void."

* * *

**Red-098...**

* * *

"_WHAT?!_" Thel exclaimed as it got up from next to Jol and rushed over to the opening in the bunker that was covered in a hard-light shield.

_Possibility of frigate class of ship arriving at Alien -designated: Forerunner- world installation -designated: Halo- zero percent via Intel received from Forerunner A.I -designated: The Monarch._

"_HOW?!_" Thel roared as the rest of the Diverted soldiers hurried up to the opening.

"I want see!" The Grunt with the missing finger 98 was tending to excitingly barked as it tried to squeeze out of 098's grip.

_Disengagement from medical treatment not recommended _"Do not disengage from my treatment." 098 told the Grunt that was named Teped.

Teped turned to face 098 "What you say?" Teped asked.

_Allow me to elaborate in Human non-military verbal wording _"Do not move." 098 sternly told the Grunt who began to shake in fear.

_Elaboration of visuals required _"Elaborate visuals." 098 told the Diverted soldiers that were gathered around the bunker's protected opening.

"The ship is speeding towards the corvette." Anve elaborated.

"The corvette is trying to move with haste to attack it -but it is too slow." Suras added.

"All aerial units around the facility are retreating back to the corvette." Freyn added as 098 finished tending to Teped and let it go of his grasp to have it hurry over to the opening with 098 in tow.

The Diverted soldiers seemed to be all focused on the sight so 098 decided to go tend to the wounded Huragok.

"The ship is moving in fast for the attack." Anve continued to elaborate what was happening.

_Speed of engagement equals frigate possibility: certain._

Lighter immediately held its arm out as 098 approached, all the while letting out pained moans and shrieks _Minor injuries: irrelevant. Major injuries: missing tentacle._

098 took what was left of Lighter's tentacle in his hands, and began wrapping cloth from his ammo pouches around the stump.

"It has shot the corvette, Reclaimer!" Suras roared in excitement _Possibility of use of MAC in current engagement: certain_ "The corvette has taken a direct hit, and is going down!"

098 suddenly heard static over his COM "UN... A... Tim... Ple..."

_Unknown UNSC ship attempting to make verbal contact _098 quickly got up and hurried over to Suras "Assist Huragok -designated Lighter Than Some." 098 told the Elite as he passed it what remained of his ammo pouches with it immediately nodding and taking it.

"This is UNSC SPARTAN Sierra-098," 098 began tuning his COM "Please respond -how copy, over?"

098 heard a voice over his COM "This is UNSC A.I Timmy. Service number: TMY 5126-8. I am responding to your recent transmission. Please repeat your previous transmission."

098 looked up to see the corvette exploding and falling out of the sky as the Charon-class frigate -that 098's IFF designated as the UNSC _Kryptonite- _began to descend over the mountain that the corvette was just on -coming to them.

"The Monarch must be aboard if they know where we are." Anve stated.

"This is UNSC SPARTAN Sierra-098," 098 repeated "Please respond -how copy, over?"

"Solid copy, Sierra," The A.I designated 'Timmy' replied over the COM "Three Pelicans are inbound. Standby for- Do you have to bother me? _(Unknown topic) _Hey! Get out of the system, damn it! _(Elaboration may be necessary_ Oh for the love of- Sierra, we got this Alien A.I who wants to speak with you. It's on the COM now."

"Reclaimer, Are you alright?" The Monarch asked.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative," 098 relied as 098 put his COM on speaker "Please elaborate on status."

"The Reclaimers of this ship know all I can tell them," The Monarch began as Thel and the rest of the Diverted soldiers came over to him "The drop-ships coming down to pick you up know that you have Covenant separatists with you, and were ordered by the ships Captain to not attack them."

"That is good news." Thel stated as it began to scratch at a wound it had on its head.

"Tell the Monarch to warn them about the enemies out there." Freyn pointed towards the bunker's opening.

_Irrelevant _"Irrelevant. Long-range motion sensors equipped within the D77-TC." 098 explained.

"Rek would have said 'that explains a lot'." Suras chuckled with the other Elites chuckling along with him.

098 looked out the opening to see the aerial Covenant vehicles were being shot down by the _Kryptonite's _guns "You have arrived earlier than specified." 098 stated to the Monarch.

"How early?" The Monarch asked "How many days has it been since I went through the portal?"

_Allow me to elaborate _"Nearly four days."

"Perfect!" The Monarch said "I was thinking it would take longer."

_Elaboration required _"Elaborate." 098 told the Monarch.

"I will do so later, Reclaimer. Now is not the time -for it will take to long." The Monarch replied.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 replied as he saw three Pelicans approach the facility and watched as they began to engage the Hunters and Drones -easily eliminating them.

"I shall proceed to elaborate the situation to UNSC forces. Do not proceed to follow me." 098 told the Diverted as he went to exit the bunker.

"Sierra, this is Pelican drop-ship: Charlie-42," A male voice came over 098's COM as he came to the entrance to the bunker "Me along with the rest of the boys from the _Kryptonite _are here to give you a lift home. Tell your Elite buddies that we _come in peace_."

_Irrelevant _"Irrelevant. They proceed to know this via the Monarch." 098 replied over his COM.

"How did the Monarch tell you?" Another male voice came over the COM.

"Possibility of the Monarch hacking the COM channel: certain." 098 explained.

"What did he say?" The male voice -that 098's IFF recognized as Lieutenant Reilly Cross- asked as 098 came out of the bunker to see dead Hunters and Drones littering the ground with the three Pelicans slowly descending into the opening in the jungle's trees caused by the Phantom crashing.

_Allow me to el-_

"He said that he is certain that the damn Monarch hacked the COM channel." 098 heard a familiar voice clarify for him.

_Master Sergeant Jeff Woods. Voice analyses and IFF confirm _098's further thoughts of him being wrong were quenched when the second Pelican blood-tray's door opened to reveal the ODST and along with other ODSTs that were not part of team Vintage.

The ODSTs hopped out of the Pelican with their guns raised, and went about securing the area -except Woods, who approached 098 "You made it." Woods nodded as he stopped in front of 098.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 nodded.

Despite 098 thinking that Woods was a soldier who let personal feelings blind him, he was glad to see him.

"Clad didn't think it was you. Wong, however, never gave up hope." Woods said; keeping his head lowered for some reason.

_Possibility of PTSD: high. Reasons: elaboration required _"What is team Vintage's status?" 098 questioned Woods.

"There was another Covenant scouting team as we exited the facility," Woods explained in a soft voice "They intercepted us and killed everyone but me. I only survived because we managed to radio in to Clad and Wong that we needed EVAC. They were so close."

_Irrelevant. Data status priority one _"What is the data's status?" 098 questioned.

"We were in a hurry and didn't have any chance to destroy it," Woods explained; again, in a soft voice "Don't worry, Sierra, I managed to grab it from Preynar's corpse; it's destroyed."

_Mission accomplished. _

More UNSC soldiers -Marines this time- came over to them "Where are these Covenant soldiers?" A Marine called Lieutenant Nancy Herald asked.

"Proceed to follow me." 098 told the Marine as he turned around and made his way towards the bunker.

"_Dang_, you couldn't have saved some for us?" A Marine called Lance Corporal Brian Davis asked in a jokingly tone.

"Son," Cross began over the COM "You can ask me to blow my head off, you can ask me to jump off a cliff, you can ask me to tell the Cap to fuck off, hell you can even ask me to _fuck you in the ass_; but don't ever ask me to save some kills for you."

"I can ask... but you may or may not do?" Davis asked.

"Yep." Cross confirmed.

"Then what the fuck's that shit about?" Davis asked.

"I was telling you not to bitch to me about not getting to kill anything." Cross clarified in an annoyed tone.

"Could have just said that," Davis chuckled "You didn't have to go into the _fucking me up the ass_ thing."

"I-"

"Do you _wanna_ fuck me up the ass?" Davis broke in before Cross could even begin.

"NO!" Cross exclaimed.

"Can you blow your head off?" Davis asked again.

"NO!" Cross exclaimed; more in annoyance this time.

"Can you tell the Cap to _fuck off?_" Davis asked.

"NO!" Cross yelled in anger. 098 thought he heard Davis whisper something as Cross yelled.

"Can you jump off a cliff?" Davis asked.

"NO! NO! NO! _NO!_" Cross yelled at the top of his lungs.

"_No_ what?" A female voice that 098's IFF confirmed as Captain Courtney Jsarez asked.

"Captain?" Cross asked in a shocked tone as 098, the Marines, and the ODSTs approached the ramp.

"_No what?_" The Captain asked again in an aggressive tone.

"He don't want to tell you to fuck off." Davis broke in.

"Why would he want to do that?" The Captain asked.

"He doesn't," Davis replied "But it's what he will say if you ask him to blow off his head, or jump of a cliff, or fuck you in the ass."

"Cross..." The Captain began in an aggressive tone "Good to know that you will do your best to prevent any inappropriate relationships between me and you. But I will have to ask you later as to how this topic was bought up."

"Captain, I-"

"She is no longer on the channel." The Monarch informed Cross.

"You?!" Cross exclaimed "Of course! I should have known!You have spent the past two weeks chatting up with the damn A.I, Davis! God only knows what tricks to made up with it!"

_Two weeks?_ "Two weeks?" 098 quickly asked; stopping before he entered the bunker.

"That's how long we were in Slip-Space." Herald answered in a worried tone.

"This is one of the things I need to explain to you." The Monarch broke in over the COM.

_Elaboration will come later. Focusing on topic is irrelevant _098 shrugged it off and entered the bunker.

"You took your time." Thel snapped its mandibles in an aggressive way; eyeing the UNSC personal that were with 098.

"Sorry, split-lip," Davis chuckled "We were having a reunion party. We would have invited you, but we didn't think you guys drank beer."

Since the Diverted soldiers could now understand English through the translators Lighter built into their lenses: the Elites quietly hissed at Davis's joke.

"What? Do you guys understand me?" Davis chuckled "Or are you just hissing at any Human who talks?"

Anve pointed to the Huragok "You shall watch your tongue now, worm; less we rip it from your mouth."

098 suddenly observed a Marine making his way over to Jol "What are you doing?" Thel asked the Marine called Corporal Malcolm Smith as he raised his shotgun to Jol's head.

"What is-" A shot rang out before Jol could finish.

Thel let out a loud hiss before roaring in absolute rage.

* * *

**Thel 'Lodamee...**

* * *

Thel forgot drawing his plasma rifle. But it didn't matter, for it was now facing the Human's face.

_WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! _"WHY?!" Thel parted his mandibles and roared in rage as the other Humans -save the Demon- raised their weapons at Thel and his men "WHY?! WHY?! YOU PATHETIC WORM?!"

Thel knew the Human had a translator built into its helmet -even though his helmet was open. And the Human replied to Thel in its pathetic tongue "I have no idea why you are so pissed about this hing-head's death. What? Does he not go to limbo or some shit and wait until your stupid _Great Journey _begins before you are all reunited in heaven or some shit? Oh wait... that bullshit doesn't happen, does it?"

_PATHETIC CREATURE _"The Prophets had it wrong," Thel hissed as his men prepared to kill every Human at his order "Humanity is a plague. And they should be wiped out."

The Demon moved in front of the Humans weapon _Is he going to break this up? He will not stop my wraith! _But the Demon only moved to the right -out of the way of the Human's weapon- and placed his left hand on the Humans gun and began to force it down.

"What the fuck you doing?" The Human asked the Demon in a panicked tone, but the Demon continued to force the Human's weapon down so it was not facing Thel.

Thel noticed a Human female raise its gun at the Demon only to have the Demon turn to it and shake its head as if saying _'do not dare'_ And the Human immediately lowered its weapon while ordering the other Humans and Imps to lower their weapons with the Human that killed Jol screaming "Lieutenant! What the fuck! Help me!"

"I ask that you do not do this." The Monarch told Thel.

"Whatever consequences I shall face, I will face eagerly for my wraith to be quenched in blood!." Thel clicked his mandibles in anticipation.

The Demon finally lowered the Human's weapon low enough that it was now facing the floor. But there was something odd; the Demon could have easily already lowered the weapon _Why was it taking its time? Is it trying to use intimidation on the pathetic creature in its last moments?  
_

Finally, the Demon turned to face Thel, and Thel took that as his cue, and fired a single shot into the Human's head; splitting it open, and melting off the flesh around the hole.

The Demon let go of the Human's weapon and proceeded to pick up Unggoy with the dislocated leg, and immediately left the bunker with the rest of the Humans coming over to assist the Diverted; assistance that the Diverted reluctantly accepted.

Thel could not respect a Human. They were a plague. And he would tell Sanghelios of the Humans violence. But he would also tell Sanghelios of the loyalty and respect Humans had. And while many would argue that Demons are not Humans. Thel knew the truth.

The Demon was Human...

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for reading so far. I have noticed that my FanFic has increased in influence -with every new chapter getting more views.**

**I want to apologize. I would have already released this chapter if my dad didn't decide to stick his fingers in a timber saw. Since he did, I had to spend nearly two days going back and forth from a hospital a hour away from my house. **

**My dad's fine. Though he lost down to the bottom of his nail of his right ring finger, and shredded his right pointer and his pinky. He should be fine, and from what I heard, he spent his entire time there eating free meals that would cost about twenty bucks in a restaurant, and chatting up the nurses.**

**New Follower alert! Ding Ding Ding! Qrs-jg. **

**Since I have made it that each new follower will become a major side character in this FanFic, I shall make Qrs into a character.  
****I was thinking the leader to Vale Nar 'Sarasee's private stealth brigade. Qrs 'Jaragsai: A quiet but deadly Elite who is a master in the art of swordsman-ship.  
****Qrs, if you have any problems with this, or do not want to be a character, please say so in a review or P.M.**

**Speaking or reviews: please leave one for it will take only but a few minutes -longer if your planning a longer review- and if you just review the single chapter and don't plan on sticking around, I will still feature you as a character -even though it seems irrelevant to feature a character named after someone who doesn't even read the story his character is in.**

**I cannot predict when other major side characters will come into the story. But you will know when you see them.**

**As always: please point out any lore mistakes or typos I made.**

**Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, xX****Life'sAPopsicleXx, gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg.**


	13. Chapter Twelve: Revelations: Part One

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I went back and fixed a small plot hole I made where the Diverted soldiers couldn't understand the Human soldiers. In chapter nine I made it that Lighter Than Some built translators into the Diverted soldier's lenses so subtitles of what Humans were saying would appear across their interface. I did, however, forget about this fact when writing chapter eleven, and I went back to fix it.**

* * *

**[ CHAPTER TWELVE: ****REVELATIONS: PART ONE ]**

* * *

[RECORD: [Dr. Catherine. E . Halsey: SN: CC-409871] No. 0023 [2517: 3, 10, 2149, 56s]

[TOPIC: Sierra: Red-098: Physical, Mental And Background Report]

[SITUATION: ALPHA 15]

[CLASSIFIED: ALPHA ONE: ONI-SEC-PRTCL-1A]

[RECORD: BEGIN]

_Out of all the SPARTANs so-far, Red-098 has proven to be the most interesting._

_Lets start with the mental conditions._

_Red has shown to be very quiet and unsocial.  
_

_He has so-far avoided interacting with the rest of the SPARTANs... unless it is ordered by Mendez..._

_He also prefers to eat alone and has taken his dinner to a table that is unoccupied time and time again since he arrived. _

_He doesn't speak with his handler unless he has to... and tries to stay away from his handler as much as possible._

_Red is also shyer than the other SPARTANs...  
_

_When he first arrived, and the SPARTANs were ordered to take a shower, Red refused until the handler beat him...  
_

_It is not unusual for a young child to be scared at the thought of being naked around other children; even some of the other SPARTANs refused; but did as they were ordered after the handlers began to use aggressive tones. _

_Red, however, persisted until he was beaten.  
_

_I do not know if this resisting will be a problem in the future... or if he is just scared and nervous; I for one prefer the latter._

_I have so-far not sat down and interviewed Red... and I will do an update on this report after I do so._

_As for how Red is when he is training._

_He seems to be do everything he is ordered to do. And he works well with the other SPARTANs; talking to them, training with them, assisting them, and the likes. _

_I find it odd how a boy at his age would not socialize with other children... but doesn't resist socializing with them when he needs to._

_The first day he was here, he began working with his follow SPARTANs without resisting; and I find this very odd..._

_Now, back to the matters at hand..._

_Red has shown to be effective when it comes to physical exercise; he seems to be able to do as much physical training before tiring out as any other SPARTAN.  
_

_He is more athletic than the other SPARTANs; being able to maneuver the training course with ease._

_He uses the monkey bars in a way that surprises me..._

_During his first run of the course, he managed to pull himself atop the monkey bars... and got down with ease when Mendez ordered him to do so._

_There is not much else to report on his physical training so-far... I have only noted that he is more athletic than the other SPARTANs. He is also fast... but Kelly-087 has proven to be the fastest out of the SPARTANs._

_Now to his educational learning..._

_Red has proved to be a keen listener... Déjá says that he is her favorite student. _

_Red has taken a keen interest in the battle of Thermopylae and Spartan society; reading books, looking up details on data-pads -which he takes without asking... but puts back immediately after he is done; he has, however, stopped this after Déjá deemed it necessary to tell him to stop.  
_

_Red is, frankly, more intelligent than most of the SPARTANs for his young age... He reads extremely well; and Déjá has reported that he has picked up on everything he has read... he is very good at maths and English; his writing skills are exceptionally good for his age, and he is able to work out numerous sums that most of the other SPARTANs are having trouble with -he even assist those SPARTANs in maths and English; which is leading me to believe that he is either warming up to them... or he finds assisting them in education is similar to assisting them in physical teamwork._

_Other than these few things, there is nothing else to report on his education; but more may happen since I keep finding out something new about him each day._

_Now to Red's physical description._

_Red is physically fit for a child of his age... Which is obviously due to him growing up on Harvest..._

_His is of pale complexion; in-fact... his skin is almost white._

_He has short brown hair; that was short before he was conscripted h__is face is like any other face of a six-year-old boy; having a round nose, freckles, a sly smile; his cheeks are not round, though. And he has an unusually shard jaw for his age. And to the right of his mouth he has a small mole._

_As for his eyes: They are a simple shade of green._

_There isn't much more to say about his facial appearance... No doubt this report will be listened to by the higher ONI officials -That's right, I know... and if they want to know more about the SPARTANs appearances.. they can look at their damn folders... I only waste my time doing these stupid reports to indulge them..._

_I have already wasted enough time doing this nonsense... I will just mention one thing before ending this irrelevant report... Look at the photo of the large scar on the right side of Red's back, then look at his background in his file; for we may have a problem..._

[RECORD: END]

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[1416 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite _****Dropship 77-Troop Carrier: **Charlie-41, Unknown Halo Array.

**Thel 'Lodamee...**

* * *

There was not much left of Jol: his entire head was blown off with but a bloody stump remaining where his head was. But Thel would not leave his brother to the clutches of the Flood that may possibly be deeper in the dark jungle.

The Humans would not leave their fallen soldier as-well. Thel hated the fact that the Human worm would receive funeral rites, but he hated the idea of having to kill the human worm again, even more.

But Thel asked the Demon to order the Human soldiers to take the body of the Human worm in another dropship; so Thel could avoid looking at what remained of its pathetic face.

Thel's journey in the Human dropship has so-far been mentally painful. He had to resist the urge to kill all the pathetic Humans and smell Jol's flesh and blood; as-well as watching his body to make sure nothing happened to it while Thel was not looking. Thel was also greatly annoyed by the feel of the Human dropship's movement. And had to listen to the Humans talk -too much- in their strange yet pathetic tongue; Thel did, however, know what the Humans were saying due to the translator the Huragok built into the Diverted soldier's lenses; a fact that the Humans seem to have forgotten since they kept speaking about Thel and his men as if they were not there

But one of Thel's greatest disturbances, however, was not all of the Diverted soldiers could fit in one dropship. Anve and Freyn were in another dropship along with Kri and 3 of the 6 surviving Unggoy. Thel was, however, put at some type of ease as the Demon said he would make sure nothing would happen.

Thel still did not trust the Demon -especially now that it was around its kin- but he respected the Demon enough to allow this.

The Sentinels were also in the other dropship; and the Monarch had stated over the Demon's BattleNet -that was on some type of speaker- that it would make sure nothing happened.

In the dropship Thel was in there was Suras, the Huragok, and the other three Unggoy.

Suras was sitting on one of the Human seats; with the Unggoy near him -scared that the Humans may harm him. The Huragok, however, was stroking Jol's dead body while cooing and groaning sadly. Jol was sitting across from Jol's body, and found the Huragok's actions very touching _Ten San 'Shyuum shall die for every Huragok ever harmed by the Covenant.__  
_

"Oh give me a break, Cross!" Thel heard the Human that made a terrible jest earlier say to the dropship's pilot over its BattleNet; unfortunately bringing Thel's attention back to the argument the Humans were having "The Cap likely knows I'm messing around."

The Human pilot named Cross must had replied for the Human that kept getting referred to as 'Davis' said "I think the Cap would have been a bit crankier if she thought that I was serious."

Cross must had replied again because Davis said "_Fuck you!_"

_What does this evil sounding word mean? _Thel rubbed his twitching mandibles in confusion; he wondered what the word _'fuck' _Meant. He assumed it was a Human curse word, but decided that he would ask the Monarch later.

"Hang on, ma'am," The Human female -who was their leader- said to nobody "Allow me to-"

"Let me handle this, ma'am." Davis told the Human female.

"Smith was too hotheaded," Davis began "his head finally melted." _Is it talking about the Human worm?_

"You take the fun out of _everything_," Davis said; Thel assumed it was speaking to something over its BattleNet "Fine: He decided to execute a damn wounded hing-head _(I shall have to watch go further to resist killing this Human) _This caused a Mexican stand-off between us and the Covenant soldiers _(We are no longer part of the fake Covenant) _Unfortunately for Smith; Sierra-098 decided to side with the hing-heads."

Thel guessed the term 'hing-head' was due to the Sangheili's hinged neck and head _A pathetic term for a pathetic race._

"Am I really that cryptic?" Davis asked whatever it was talking to "You don't like my joking? Shit, Cross will be pissed."

_Do these things ever shut up? _"Quiet," Thel hissed at Davis "Your constant blubbering is harming my mind."

"Can we talk about this later, Cap?" Davis asked whatever was on the other side of the BattleNet "The split-lip boss is getting annoy of my voice."

Whatever was on the other-side of the BattleNet must had replied for Davis said "Thanks, Cap. I'll tell you what happened later."

"No, I will." The Human female broke in.

_Damn it! Shut up! _"Shut it!" Thel snapped his mandibles at the Humans.

"Fucking hing-head." Another Human soldier with black skin chuckled.

"It can understand you." Davis warned the Human with black skin

"It can?" The Human with black skin asked.

"Yes." The female Human confirmed.

The black skinned Human looked at Thel in a worried way "_Well... shit..._" It said.

_I shall have to ask the Monarch what 'shit' means as-well._

Thel ignored the Humans and turned his head to look out of the dropship's opened doors; they -and the other three dropships- were finally entering the Human ship.

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[1417 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Bridge, Unknown Halo Array; Believed to be Installation 06 By Forerunner A.I -Designated: The Monarch.****  
**

**Courtney Jsarez...**

* * *

Captain Courtney Jsarez was reading the Status reports of the _friendly_ Covenant soldiers and Sierra-098 when her Communications officer -Ensign Benjamin Hardinworth- said "Ma'am, Lieutenant Herald reports that Corporal Malcolm Smith is KIA."

_What? How? _"Timmy." Courtney called for the _Kryptonite's _A.I.

Timmy's A.I avatar immediately appeared on her personal console "Yes, ma'am?" He asked.

Timmy was the most bland A.I Courtney had ever seen -and she had seen a lot in her service. He never joked, never showed any emotions unless it was a time he had to -Courtney observed that he got annoyed whenever the Monarch would hack into the ships systems- Timmy's avatar was that of a 21st century middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap, a leather coat that went down to his thighs, some simple steel-cap working boots, jeans with a belt around his waste, and a T-shirt under his opened coat.

"Put me on Fireteam Solitude's COM channel." She ordered the A.I.

Timmy nodded "Connected... Now."

"Lieutenants, Herald: you reported in that Corporal Smith is KIA. Mind explaining why?" Courtney questioned Herald.

"Hang on, ma'am," Herald replied over Courtney's personal console "Let me-"

"Let me handle this, ma'am." Lance Corporal Brian Davis broke in over the COM.

_Damn it _"Fine." Courtney signed.

"Smith was too hot-headed," Davis began "his head finally melted."

_What is that meant to mean? _"Elaborate, Corporal." Courtney ordered the Marine in a stern voice.

"You take the fun out of _everything_," Davis sighed over the COM "Fine: He decided to execute a damn wounded hing-head; this caused a Mexican stand-off between us and the Covenant soldiers, and unfortunately for Smith: Sierra-098 decided to side with the hing-heads."

_I still have no idea on what the hell you're talking about _"You attempts to elaborate have failed," Courtney coldly told Davis "Please elaborate a bit better _this time_."

"Am I really cryptic?" Davis chuckled over the COM.

_Why hasn't he learned that I do not enjoy his stupid jokes? _"I do not find you amusing, Corporal. So I would appreciate it if you would quit your joking."

"You don't like my joking?" Davis asked "Shit, Cross will be pissed."

"You bet you ass I will be." Cross broke in over the COM.

_Oh for God's sake. I should have just let Herald explain _"Put-"

Davis interrupted Courtney before she could continue "Can we talk about this later, Cap?" Davis asked "The split-lip boss is getting annoyed of my voice."

_Damn it _"Fine." Courtney sighed.

"Thanks, Cap," Davis replied "I'll tell you what happened later."

"No, I will." Herald said as Courtney disconnected from the COM.

_Damn Marines. And what the fuck happened down there? I should have just sent Lynda._

There was a reason Courtney didn't send Lieutenant Colonel Lynda Keyes down to meet with the Covenant. And that reason was because Lynda had lost her husband and children when _Atmosus _was glassed a couple of months ago -_Atmosus _was also the same planet the Monarch resided on. And since Lynda may had been hostile, even physical to the Covenant -despite her claiming that she wouldn't- Courtney decided it would be best not to worry about it, and hoped the leaders of the Fireteams would be able to hold their teams together. And apparently Herald couldn't do that with her own Fireteam.

Courtney let out a sigh as the Monarch floated and positioned itself next to her command chair "Reclaimer," It said in its metallic voice "I have detected Flood on this Installation."

_WHAT?! _"_The Flood?!_" Courtney exclaimed with some of her command crew turning to who she was talking to "I thought they all died when Halo was activated."

"Yes they were," The Monarch replied "But I suppose my creators decided to keep a few alive to research -in-case they ever came back."

_That's bullshit! _"The Flood wouldn't have come back since they were _starved__ out!_" Courtney aggressively reminded the Monarch.

"It was a guess to my creators intentions," The Monarch reminded Courtney "And there was always the chance that the Flood somehow survived."

_Oh for fuck's sake! This changes everything._

"This topic is irrelevant," The Monarch told Courtney _great, so more bad news? _"The Monitor of this Installation as activated a gravity well that will prevent anything from leaving Halo's atmosphere _(WHAT?!) _I believe it did this to prevent the Flood from escaping."

_I can't believe this! _"You're fucking kidding me?!" Courtney angrily exclaimed "We can't leave?!"

"No," The Monarch confirmed Courtney's fears "But I do not think the Monitor will leave us to be eliminated by the Covenant."

"I can confirm that," Timmy's avatar popped up on Courtney's console "He's hacking the _Kryptonite _as we speak."

_This hacking can't be good for the ship. And NAVCOM will have my ass for it._

"It's accessing the bridges intercoms." Timmy reported right as a static sound filled the bridge.

"Greetings, Reclaimers," A voice said over the bridges intercoms "I am 16807 Fleighted Fire. I am the Monitor of Installation 06."

"I figured this was Installation 06." The Monarch said.

"Flood on this Installation have broken out of Holding facility 009," The Monitor continued "To prevent the spread of the Flood, this Installation's gravity well has been activated. I would ask that you refrain from entering the Denial of Locale; for you shall find it is dangerously ineffective, Reclaimers _(Does it mean slipspace?) _Instead, Reclaimers, I ask that you proceed to the coordinates I have entered into your ship's Navigation controls; I highly recommend this, Reclaimers. And I ask that you please hurry -for Meddler ships are quickly making their way to your ship's location."

Courtney waited until the Monitor stopped talking before turning to the Monarch -that was still floating next to her command seat "Can we trust it?" She asked the Monarch.

"Yes, Reclaimer," The Monarch replied "And we have no other choice but to."

_So much for jump in, get the Covenant separatists and the SPARTAN, and jump to a random slipspace vector before jumping back to Earth and begin the events that would end this damn war _Courtney let out a sigh "Where are these coordinates?" Courtney asked her Navigation officer -Lieutenant Lilly Gantant.

"_Inside the ring._" She replied in a confused tone.

_Inside the ring? _"Monarch, How can we go _inside the ring?_" Courtney asked the Monarch.

"Please wait, Reclaimer, while I hack into your Ships Navigation controls to get a visual on where Fleighted Fire wants us to go." The Monarch replied.

_This is a violation of a load of security regulations. I hope I don't get court-marshaled for letting the Monarch just hack into our ship's systems at will._

"It wishes us to go to an access gate that will allow us to go inside the Installation's maintenance tunnels." The Monarch finally stated.

_This may keep us safe if it is what I think it is _"Can our ship fit into the tunnels?" Courtney asked the Monarch "Can the Covenant follow us?"

"The service tunnels door is concealed to look like a Forerunner facility. It will close up again, and will be unable to open without the Monitor's consent. And yes: your ship is small enough to fit in the tunnels." The Monarch confirmed.

_Finally some good news _"Gantant, take us to those coordinates," Courtney ordered her Navigation officer "Don't be afraid to let the Monarch take control of the _Kryptonite _if-" A pain went throughout Courtney's back and chest -again.

_Not again! No! _"_Fuck!_" Courtney screamed in pain as she almost fell out of her command seat.

"Captain!" Courtney's Operations officer -Lieutenant Joseph Gamble- exclaimed as he left his post and hurried over to Courtney.

"Are you alright, Reclaimer?" The Monarch asked.

"Medics are on the way." Timmy reassured Courtney as Hardinworth came over to help her.

_Not again! Please, God, not again!_

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[1426 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Medical bay, Installation 06.****  
**

**Red-098...**

* * *

"Did the medics go ahead and try to tend to this?" Chief Medical Officer Howard Klyn asked 098 as he bought the portable MJOLNIR armor removers over to the reinforced bed 098 was on.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 confirmed as he took of his helmet and placed it on a medical table beside the bed he was on.

"They shouldn't have done that," Klyn stated "We need to load you up on Morphine first -did it hurt?"

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 nodded.

"Watch it!" Davis asked as a medic began examining his broken arm.

Thel and the rest of the Diverted were not happy when Marines came over to take them to the brig. And oddly enough, Thel decided to take Davis hostage at gunpoint -breaking his arm in the process. Thankfully, 098 managed to calm things down enough for Thel to accept being taken to the brig.

"Is the Captain nearly here?" Klyn asked over his head-piece.

Apparently the Captain had a large amount of pain go through her body, and was being taken to the medical bay.

"Good." Klyn said to the voice that must have replied as he went back to removing 098's torso armor.

"I keep asking them to bring one of those big armor removing things in here," Klyn muttered as he unscrewed 098's armor "But they kept saying 'oh no, the chances of a SPARTAN coming aboard -wounded- is too low to waste the credits'; arseholes."

"We'll have to tend to the Captain when she arrives." Another medic told 098 as he assisted in removing 098's armor.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative," 098 nodded "my status is irrelevant if CO's status is orange or over."

"I wouldn't put it like that." Howard chuckled as he had two other medics help him carry his armor to a reinforced medical table.

The medical bay's door opened to reveal two medics carting a portable medical table with Captain Jsarez on it "We need assistance!" One of the medics yelled as they carted the table into the medical bay.

"Can I continue to help Sierra?" One of the medics assisting 098 asked.

"Yeah," Howard nodded at the medic as he went over and helped the Captain to sit up "If this is just another sudden pain attack, it should go away quickly."

The Captain was groaning in intense pain._  
_

"Okay," The medic tending to 098 muttered "Let's get your under-suit off."

The Medic injected a dose a morphine into 098's wounds -with the Captain beginning to scream in more pain- and began to quickly unzip 098's under-suit around his torso.

"_FUCK!_" The Captain screamed as the medic began to examine 098's wounds.

"Gonna need to turn you around to get to your back better." The medic said as he helped 098 shift around.

098 felt a lot pain moving his body -now that his wounds were uncovered, they were starting to hurt again.

"There we are." The medic said as he began to inspect 098's back.

"_Red._" 098 heard the Captain gasp in shock "_I knew it._"

098 turned to see what the Captain was talking about, and saw a smile he would never forget.

_Nai..._

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you for reading this far, and I'm excited to say that things are gonna get more intense.**

**One more chapter before I go back to Vale's POV (Some more of his interactions between the Prophet of Pity are close!)**

**New Follower alert! Ding Ding Ding! Adam95F.**

**As per my protocol (That I enjoy greatly) I will make him into a major side character.  
No plans as to who at the moment. But I ask that Adam tell me via P.M or review if he wants any custom details, or he does not want to be featured as a character (For various reasons)**

**As usual: please report any typos or lore mistakes I made as-well as just reviewing for the hell of it and to make me happy (I love reading reviews!)**

******Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, xX****Life'sAPopsicleXx, gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F.**


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Revelations: Part Two

**[ CHAPTER THIRTEEN: REVELATIONS: PART TWO ]**

* * *

_There was something different about Red -I knew it!_

_"IT'S NOT RED!" I screamed at my parents "IT"S NOT, I KNOW IT!"_

_"Don't yell, Courtney, please don't yell." mum cried as dad held her to comfort her._

_They thought me being angry was fake... that I was being naughty... I WASN'T, THOUGH!_

_"He doesn't even call me 'Nai'," I cried "He does-"_

_"Courtney!" Dad yelled at me "Stop it! Look at what you are doing to your mother!"_

_I looked and I saw that she was crying. I already knew this; so why did they want me to see?_

_Mum finally stopped crying and knelt down in front of me "Courtney," She began as she placed her hands on my shoulder "I know it has been hard; it has been very hard on mummy and daddy. I know you were scared when Red went missing; but he is back now. And I now he may seem different... but... he still hasn't talked about what happened when he went missing with us -let alone the police. Something..." Mum began crying again "Something may have happened to him."_

_"It isn't that, mum," I cried "I feel like someone is hitting me all the time; Red's not being hit! And I know it ain't Red, I know it."_

_"Your just being naughty!" Dad yelled "You need to stop this shit!"_

_"Yusaf," Mum said as she got up and walked over to dad where he cuddled her again "This has been so big for her."_

_"Is everything alright?" A voice asked as I turned to see the fake Red standing in the doorway._

_I immediately ran over to Red and slapped him across the face with all my strength._

_"COURTNEY!" Dad yelled at me._

_"You see?" I asked them as I turned around to face them "I didn't feel that!"_

_"Go to your room! Now!" Dad yelled at me._

_I didn't have much of a choice, and I simply turned around and walked up the stairs to the second floor -where my bedroom was._

_I promised to myself that I would find Red..._

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[1427 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Brig, Installation 06.****  
**

**Thel 'Lodamee...**

* * *

"Stay still!" Anve snapped his mandibles at Kri as he slowly relocated the Kig-Yar's claws back into place.

When the Humans came to take them to their brig, Thel managed to take the Human known as Davis capture at gunpoint, and the rest of the Diverted mostly raised their weapons -save Kri who decided to attack the Humans head on, and ended up having a gun butt come to his face but he decided to try to block the incoming hit with his clawed hands.

Kri let out a loud screech as its claws were finally relocated.

"Hope you learnt your lesson." Anve angrily snapped his mandibles as he gave Kri a little push away from him.

"_Shut it!_" The Kig-Yar screeched.

"Watch how you speak to your superiors." Anve hit Kri over the head.

"We are no longer in the Covenant!" Kri reminded Anve with a hiss "Military rank does not matter."

"Oh, so I'm not restricted to breaking your neck?" Anve retorted.

_Smart. _

The Kig-Yar let out an annoyed screech as he went over to a Human bed and sat on it while the non wounded Unggoy played some type of game near him; but stopped after Kri kicked one of the small creatures in the head as if telling him to stop.

"Are you okay, brother?" Suras asked as he took seated himself next to Thel on the Human bed.

_Not really _"I am worried as to what the Humans have done with Jol's body." Thel replied; his mandibles twitching in an uncontrollable way.

Suras placed a reassuring hand on Thel's shoulder "Relax, brother, I doubt the Demon will allow the other Reclaimers to mistreat his body."

_Reclaimers? I do not believe they can uphold that title _Suras was the only surviving member of the Diverted to refer to the Humans as Reclaimers. It was very uncomfortable for Thel to hear it. But he let it slide; not wanting to upset Suras any further than he already was when he found out the truth -Thel was surprised he was not among the ones to kill themselves when the Monarch revealed the truth.

"The Demon will follow orders, brother, before he follows loyalty." Thel grimly clicked his mandibles to reminded Suras.

"_'he'_?" Suras observed what Thel just said.

_It has earned that honor _"Brother, Humanity may be worms... a _plague_... but not all of them are..." Thel began scratching a wound on his head "The Demon has deserved the honor of being more than a worm; a plague."

"Shall we-"

"Refer to him as you wish, brother," Thel interrupted Suras "Do not allow my leadership to cloud your decisions -as we have let happen with the San 'Shyuum."

"He has earned my respect as-well," Suras clicked his mandibles "I was touched by His temporarily loyalty to us being so great that he killed his own kin to avenge one of us."

_I doubt he will like us thinking this _"The Demon will know doubt try to deny this." Thel stated.

"He will," Suras agreed with a nod of his head before cocking it around to face Thel "But you, brother, know how to bypass his denial."

_That was a statement not a question_ "Yes," Thel confirmed with a nod of his head "he cannot deny all of what happened as something else; it was personal and He cannot avoid me reaching that core."

Thel watched in worry as Freyn sat down on another Human bed; clutching his heavily damaged arm.

"Brother, what extend is the wound?" Thel asked Freyn as he hopped off of the bed he was sitting on and moved over to the bed Freyn was sitting on which was directly opposite the cell's door.

"I wish our energy shields lasted a bit longer, brother," Freyn began scratching the wound on his neck with his good hand "But I wish those damned insects were better trained."

_What does he mean _"What do you mean, brother?" Thel clicked his mandibles in question as he took a seat beside Freyn on the bed.

"They swarmed us," Freyn began with a click of his mandibles while making a gesture of his good arm; which he stopped scratching his wound with "They attacked us indiscriminately, brother; using no strategy. They bought out shields down with attacking us physically -rather than using their damned weapons which were given to them. And instead of focusing on all of the major targets at once... they decided -with their tiny minds- to center on one of us the most."

_You need not continue _"Jol." Thel slowly nodded his head.

"If they but used strategy," Freyn continued "if they but focused on us all at the same time -instead of the majority focusing on Jol- he may have survived."

_Do you blame yourself? _"You speak as if you are blaming yourself, brother." Thel observed while scratching at a scratch he had on his lower left mandible.

"No, brother, I do not blame myself," Freyn shook his head "There are many more I can blame. There are the ones who decided that Minors would not have shields as strong as higher ranks. There are the San 'Shyuum for deciding to take in such a pathetic and dumb race into the fake Covenant. There are the fools who decided to use that pathetic race for military use other than labor."

_You waste your breath with blaming such and such. There is but one end to the path of blame _"Listing out all of those you could blame is a waste of time when there is a single end to the path of blame" Thel broke in "_The San 'Shyuum_."

"We shall kill them all," Freyn gritted his mandibles in disgust and hatred "We shall kill them all after we skin each and every one of them from their _pathetic flesh._"

Anve and Suras must have heard Freyn for they let out roars of approval -as did Thel.

"Are you okay?" Thel heard the familiar metallic voice of the Monarch over the brigs speakers as he and the other Diverted stopped roaring.

_Why would it ask if it cannot hear our reply? _Thel had his questioned answered when he saw one of the Monarch's Sentinels float into their cell.

"Warn the Humans that I am not happy about this." Thel gritted his mandibles to the Monarch through the Sentinel.

"I will inform them of that," The Monarch replied "But I need to inform you on some certain events that have taken place."

_Events? Why am I not eager to hear this? _"What events?" Thel sternly questioned the Monarch as he positioned himself so he would be looking straight into the Sentinel's eye like center.

"Due to the Floods outbreak on this Installation," The Monarch began "the Monitor of this Installation -now known as 16807 Fleighted Fire- has activated a gravity well on this Installation -preventing any ships from leaving this Installation's atmosphere."

_WHAT?! _"We cannot_ leave?!_" Thel snapped his mandibles in anger and annoyance at the Sentinel "_We are stuck on this dreaded ring?!_"

"Please calm down," The Monarch told Thel and the rest of the Diverted who were now panicking and roaring, barking, and screeching in annoyance and anger "I believe the Monitor will have a plan. At the moment -to keep us safe from hostile Covenant forces- it has told us to enter a large maintenance tunnel going throughout this Installation. Being inside this Installation shall keep us safe."

_To what end _"For how long?" Thel questioned the Monarch with a few clicks of his mandibles "Will the Monitor deactivate the gravity well so we can leave?"

"I do not know," The Monarch replied "As far as I know: all of the Covenant fleet is within the atmosphere. This means if the Monitor deactivates the gravity well, there is the threat of a contaminated Covenant ship leaving and letting the Flood loose into the galaxy."

_I must have jinxed things when I believed that our fortune had not abandoned us _Thel clicked and twitched his mandibles in annoyance before finally saying "What do you believe the Monitor's plan is?"

"From what I know, this Installation -now confirmed to be Installation 06- has the most Flood holding facilities than any other Forerunner world," The Monarch began to explained "with that, it is highly likely that the Monitor has a Seer -a large machine that can scan an entire small planet of Flood life-sighs. I believe it will scan all the Covenant ships before deactivating the gravity well to allow us to enter 'the Void' and head back to Human space."

_We have already wasted so much time _"Just more time to waste; and more brothers that will die for the fake Covenant." Thel hissed in anger as he went back to sit down on one of the Human beds.

"That is all I have to report -at the moment," The Monarch stated "I shall tell you when the Humans are coming to speak with you."

The sound of the beep from the Human's speakers told Thel and the Diverted that the Monarch had nothing else to say.

"Brother," Anve said as he sat next to Thel "I have thought of a possible advantage."

_Then speak _"What advantage, brother?" Thel questioned Anve with a few clicks of his mandibles as he cocked his head around to face the Major in Minor armor.

"With that corvette destroyed..." Anve began "the Fleet-Master may want to come after us personally."

Thel couldn't keep his mandibles forming a grin _Pity shall want to stay back at the base beneath the portal -he would not dare attempt to go with the Fleet-Master if he decides to come after us -less he cause unwanted questions. And with Pity out-of-the-way... perhaps I could contact the Fle- oh..._

Thel had to only say one name to remind Freyn of a high problem that they may have "Qrs 'Jaragsai..."

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[1435 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Officer Lounge, Installation 06.****  
**

**Red-098...**

* * *

"Was it ONI?" The Captain questioned 098 as she squirmed uncontrollably on the couch she was sitting on.

The officer's lounge was fairly nice for a frigate. It was located on a small observation deck with a large window that one could look out to see the galaxy. It had a small bar with stools in-front of it, there was a sitting area -where 098 and the Captain were- with a coffee table in the middle of 4 couches facing each other. On the wall opposite the bar there was a large screen with two more couches in-front of it. The lounge's floor was different from the other rooms around the ship that 098 had seen thus far; with the cold metal floor being covered in carpet and rugs covering the carpet in certain areas of the lounge. The walls were not different from from the walls in a Charon-class frigate's barracks with being painted a simple white; but here were a few posters and other decorations and accessories covering the wall.

098 couldn't stop looking at the Captain's face; how it reminded him of his own face -as it should.

_Topic: classified _"Topic: classified. Cannot engage in classified topic." 098 calmly told the Captain.

"I didn't even need to ask..." The Captain ran her hand through her shoulder length hair "I mean... who _else_ could it be?"

098 did not want to be here. But after his wounds were tended to, and the Captain had calmed down, she asked for 098 to join her in the officer's lounge -which 098 declined; but she asked him again, and this time, it was an order. And 098 would not refuse an order -no matter how much he did not want to carry it out.

098 noticed that Lieutenant Colonel Lynda Keyes -who was standing by the lounge's entrance- was watching him carefully; not shifting her eyes from him.

Keyes was a women of average height with a sharp face; having a sharp but thin jaw, sharp cheekbones -but not gaunt-, downward angled eye ridges that gave her blue eyes a serious look, and a straight nose. Her shoulder length red hair was tied up into a ponytail but she left a bit loose around her fringe so some hair was covering her forehead. She was currently wearing standard off-duty Marine fatigues with a M6F PDW holstered on her right thigh and a combat knife sheathed on a belt that went diagonally across her torso.

098 directed his eyes away from Keyes and back to face the Captain as she rested her right hand on the couches armrest while she kept her left hand on her lap; her fingers began to twitch about uncontrollably.

"Talk to me, Red," The Captain finally said; her fingers still twitching "_Just talk to me._"

_Possibility of stress causing finger twitching: certain. Personal experience confirms theory. Previous: Unknown topic to initiate _"Unknown topic to initiate." 098 told the Captain.

The Captain redirected her green eyes from 098's before letting out a sigh; her fingers still twitching "You... can't _socialize_?"

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 confirmed with a single nod of his head.

The Captain redirected her eyes to be looking at 098 again; her fingers still twitching "What, you can or you can't?" She asked.

_I cannot engage in irrelevant topics _"I cannot engage in irrelevant topics." 098 stated.

"So no?" The Captain asked; her fingers _still_ twitching; getting more uncontrollable.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 confirmed with another single nod of his head.

"_Why?_" The Captain asked; beginning to tear up; her fingers twitching uncontrollably "_What did they do to you?_"

098 noticed that Keyes was wondering if she should go to her distressed captain; she seemed very worried about the Captain _Possible close relationship: certain. Previous: Topic: classified _"Topic: classified." 098 told the Captain.

The Captain took a few seconds to collect herself "Why do you speak like_ that?_" She finally asked; fingers still twitching uncontrollably.

_Topic: classified _"Topic: classified." 098 told the Captain.

"Really?" Timmy's avatar appeared on a small holo tank by the entrance to the lounge; with 098, the Captain, and Keyes turning to face it "I've been going over your recordings: and I saw that you told the Covenant separatists about the Cole Protocol; practically spoke off the paper."

_ designed to follow UNSC and ONI regulations and protocols _" designed to follow UNSC and ONI regulations and protocols." 098 stated.

"I'm not allowing you to tell the Captain classified Intel," Timmy assured 098 "What I'm doing is reminding you that you have already given away classified Intel to the enemy."

_Allow me to elaborate _"Situation required classified Intel elaboration." 098 stated to the A.I.

"You didn't have to into such detail; you didn't even need to tell the Covenant separatists about all of it -just the random vectors part." Timmy countered 098's argument.

"Timmy." The Captain finally said in a tone that said 'you shouldn't had interrupted, now go away'; her fingers still twitching uncontrollably.

"Sorry, ma'am." Timmy apologized as his avatar disappeared from the holo tank.

Keyes went back to her original position -facing 098- and the Captain turned her head back around to face 098; her eyes directly on him "Do you even know _who I am_?" The Captain asked 098; her fingers still twitching uncontrollably.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative," 098 nodded "Courtney Jsarez: Captain of the _Charon_-class light frigate designated: the UNSC _Kryptonite_."

The Captain let out a sigh and shook her head "I meant how you and I are connect; you do know that we are connected? Right?" She asked 098 while narrowing her eyes to his; her fingers still twitching uncontrollably.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative," 098 confirmed with a single nod "We were conjoined twins."

"Yes," The Captain slowly nodded her head; tearing up again; her fingers _still _twitching uncontrollably "We were closer than any two people could ever be," The Captain wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her uniform; her fingers still twitching uncontrollably as she did so "Then they _took you... _and _replaced _you with _some... thing__..._; and I knew it wasn't_ you_... I knew it. And for the longest of times... I had no idea what had happened... Then I got older... and I found out about _ONI_... and I thought to myself... '_what else could it be?_' I knew the Insurrection was getting bad; hell, the UEG space knew it... but I still tried to convince myself that we hadn't_ stooped so low_ as to do something _so_ _drastic_..." _  
_

098 didn't say a word. He didn't even know what to say. He just simply looked into the green eyes of his twin sister; trying to remember her.

"Ma'am," Timmy's avatar reappeared on the holo tank by the door "I'm sorry to interfere but the Covenant separatists are getting restless; demanding to speak with you and have their wounds healed."

"Right," The Captain sniffled; her fingers began to slow their twitching rate down "Get a security team down there; have them bought here; there should be plenty of room here; and have the COs come up here as-well."

"Affirmative, ma'am," Timmy complied "One more thing: the rest of the Covenant fleet -that the Monarch says the Covenant separatists call the _Second Fleet of Divine Trinity- _has arrived here from Quaint."

"They can't enter the atmosphere, though, right?" The Captain asked; her finger's twitching began to get slower and slower.

"That's what the Monarch says," Timmy nodded its holographic head "But if the fleet does enter the rings atmosphere, it will likely be torn apart.

"Let's hope they do then." Keyes chuckled as she took a seat on one of the bar stools

"We... will talk later... _yeah_?" The Captain asked 098 as Timmy's avatar disappeared; her fingers finally stopped twitching.

_Personal emotions irrelevant. Following orders is mandatory. _"Personal emotions irrelevant. But will engage in topic if ordered to." 098 told the Captain.

"Will you talk to me without me _ordering you to?_" The Captain questioned 098.

_Negative. Engaging in topic irrelevant_ "Negative. Engaging in topic irrelevant." 098 replied.

The Captain seemed shocked by 098's words "_Is that all I am?_" She asked; tearing up again; her fingers began twitching again "_Irrelevant_?"

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 replied indifferently.

"Then I'll order you to speak to me," The Captain said; in tears; her fingers twitching uncontrollably "I won't _let... this..._ _go_..."

* * *

**September 8, 2555 ****[1214 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Unknown _Sahara_-class heavy Prowler.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

"She said that she was your twin sister." West stated as he took a sip of his coffee.

_As I told her to _"What did you think when you heard?" Red asked West.

Red had control of his mind again. The '098' personality that _it _enjoyed inflicting on Red was gone -for now.

"I already knew," West smiled _Of course _"I read all your files before starting the interviews.

Red had to grin at his mistake _It's not good to allow others to see the mistakes of heroes _"Will you cut that out?" Red asked West; with him smiling in return.

"Can't have the reputation of a SPARTAN ruined," West chuckled as he pulled out his Data-pad "it won't leave this room -_will it?_"

_He isn't talking to me _Red guessed he was talking to the guards in the room.

"Shall we continue?" West asked Red "Or did you want to take a lunch break?"

_Let me finish up with the meeting _"Can I finish up with the meeting first?" Red asked West.

"Sure," West nodded as he finished typing something down on his Data-pad "I assume that after what happened with your sister, things were uncomfortable."

_Not for me _"It wasn't for me," 098 took a sip of his bottled water; which was hard since he was in handcuffs "But I noticed her giving me a few glances during the meeting. And when the meeting ended, she said she had to get something from her quarters; I assumed she went there to cry before going to the bridge."

West seemed upset "Fucking Section III," He shook his head _He is feeling guilty_ "I-"

"I don't blame you," Red reassured West "I'm guilty of a few things myself," _No! _"Like, wanting to eat your dead son."

"_The fuck!_" The food almost jumped out of its seat "What the _fuck_, Sierra?"

_Quell yourself, food, it is my turn to speak _"I know how they died," _It _said "I know how everything died -for I am _everything_."

"It's not you," The food realized "What the _fuck _is happening here?!"

_QUELL YOURSELF, FOOD! YOU ARE MINE! __It _Noticed the other Food in the room were beginning to squirm in confusion "_Reach_, was it?" _It _asked "Such a pathetic name. Soon, its name shall be but wind. And your pathetic son will be forgotten."

The food just stood there; looking calmly at _it __It is strong for food. Toying with its weak emotions shall reap me no reward. Have your mind back, food. _

"_Fuck!_" Red cursed as he slammed his head down on the table _Oh, Nai!_ "Shit! Sir, I recommend you send a team to find Captain Jsarez."

"Frasine," West called out to the ships A.I "Send a team to the barracks; just not the damned IVs."

"Done." Frasine reported over the room's intercoms.

West nodded to the guards around the room to calm down as he took his seat again "Was that _It_?" West asked as he grabbed his Data-pad that he dropped when _It _took control.

_Yes _"Yeah," Red confirmed with a nod "Please don't ask me what _It _is; because _It _won't let me say."

"Will _It _eventually let you _tell me_?" West asked Red as he began using his stylus on his Data-pad.

_Will you? Food, every story has its plot-twist _"It seems so," Red replied in confusion "I think that it intends to reveal _itself _when we reach that part of the story."

"_'That part of the story'_?" West questioned Red.

_I know... _"Cryptic, I know. But believe me when I say that I don't want to be." Red explained before he grabbed his water bottle and took a long drink of it before putting it back on the table; empty.

"I'm patient, Sierra," West stated "But the rest of ONI may not be. And I won't be able to stop them from interviewing you themselves once we arrive back at Earth."

_It won't matter by then _"Everything will be clear by then," Red assured West "That's if _it _allows me to reach that part of the story; but I believe _it _wants that."

"Captain Jsarez is okay," Frasine reported over the room's intercoms "She has a huge headache. But will be alright -according to the medics."

_I suppose me bashing my head onto the table didn't help._

"Did you want to go see her?" West asked.

_No, let me finish with the meeting _"Let me just finish up with the meeting." Red replied.

"Sure, no problem; whose POV?" West asked.

_Thel's, again _"Thel's." Red replied.

"Go ahead then." West took a sip of his coffee.

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[1447 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Officer Lounge, Installation 06.****  
**

**Thel 'Lodamee...**

* * *

Thel, Suras, Anve, Freyn, Kri, the non wounded surviving Unggoy -the ones with serious wounds were being held back in the Human medical bay-, and the Huragok entered the room to find that the Monarch was there, and it was flooded with Humans.

_I feel as if I am in a pit of worms _Thel clicked his mandibles in annoyance and let out an annoyed grunt as he and his men spread out around the room with Freyn walking over to wide Human seat while cradling his bandaged arm and hissed at the Humans to move from the seat as he took the seat as his own, the 4 Unggoy positioning themselves around Suras -who was leaning against the wall under a Human screen, Kri had decided to annoy the Humans and jumped up on the service bench and sat down; sending the Humans sitting on the thin chairs in-front of the bench back, Anve and Thel both stood together near the rooms entrance, and the Huragok immediately went over to the Human screen and began pulling it apart.

The first thing Thel noticed was that the Demon was no longer in his armor, and did not wear anything to cover his torso and simply had bandages wrapped all around his torso.

The second and last thing Thel noticed is that the Humans all had eye pieces over their eyes _Without a doubt they are using them to understand our tongue.__  
_

The Human female -that Thel guessed was the Captain of the ship- looked around at all of the Diverted soldiers and let out a little chuckle before opening her mouth to speak "Make yourself at home."

_Is she a fool? _"Are you daft?" Thel snapped his mandibles at the Human "We already have."

One of the Humans let out a laugh before the Human female made him stop with a wave of her odd Human hand "I believe introductions are in order." She rubbed her chin.

_Giving pathetic Humans a name is uncomfortable _"So be it," Thel nodded; ignoring his negative thoughts about knowing the Human worm's names "I am Thel 'Lodamee," Thel then gestured to Anve "This is Anve 'Lodamee -my second in command," Thel then gestured to Freyn "That is Freyn 'Okranee," Thel then pointed to Suras and the Huragok "The Huragok is named 'Lighter Than Some' and the Sangheili next to it is named Suras 'Johanamee," Thel than turned and gestured to Kri "And that little bastard over there is Kri."

Kri hissed at Thel with a Unggoy Major stepping forward "And I Yapyap." The small creature beamed.

"Nobody cares about you." Anve snapped his mandibles at the small Unggoy.

The Unggoy let out a cry and hurried back into his two hunched up kin who began to comfort him _Cowardly creatures._

The Human Captain cleared its throat "I'm Captain Courtney Jsarez -Captain of this ship _(I do not care)._"

The Human named Courtney then gestured to a Human female that seemed to have a problem with directing her eyes from Thel "That is Lieutenant Colonel Lynda Keyes -the Commander of _Kryptonite's _entire armed forces _(I do not care)._"

Courtney then turned and gestured to an aggressive looking Human sitting on the edge of one of the wide Human seats "That there is First Lieutenant Frank Sullivan -the second in command of the Marine forces on the _Kryptonite __(I do not care)_."

Courtney proceeded to gesture to a Human in a white lab coat that was sitting next to the Human named Frank "This is Doctor Hallas Day -a scientist that ONI sent with the _Kryptonite -_in-case we came across some Forerunner artifacts etc that we may need to examine _(I do not care) _And ONI is... well... our intelligence gatherers and overseers of Spec-Ops and Human security and secret programs," Courtney eyed where the Demon was standing as it said that "They are basically behind a lot of pain you received during your campaign against us."

"Humans that I hate more than normal." Freyn mused as he stroked his lower mandibles.

Courtney ignored Freyn, and gestured to a formal looking Human standing by the left side of the window -with Kri not taking his eyes off of it "That is Lieutenant Rhine Dorhan -another ONI agent _(I do not care)._"

Courtney then gestured to a tall, calm looking Human that was standing by one of the Human's wide seats "This is Captain Dean White -Commander of the Marine detachment of the _Kryptonite __(I do not care)_."

Courtney turned to an odd skin Human male that was standing behind her "This is Commander Juan Cortez -My Executive Officer -or the _Kryptonite's_ second in command _(Damn it! I do not care!)_."

Thel could hear and see and hear some of his men getting restless.

Courtney turned to another damned Human that appeared to be in some type of command _Damn Humans and their stupid large ranking system! _"This is Adam Franti -commander of the ODSTs aboard this ship _(I do not care! Damn it!)_."

Courtney decided to unwillingly annoy Thel more and gestured to another Human sitting on the floor; using its knife to carve a Human skull into its chest plate that it had with it _Is this large introduction some type of Human torture? _"Over here is Second Lieutenant George Parker -the third in command of the Marine forces on this ship _(I... do not... care!)_.

Courtney then gestured to the two remaining gruff looking Humans that were both sitting together on a wide Human seat "Lastly: over there is First Lieutenant Rick Cylus -second in command of the ODSTs aboard the _Kryptonite_- and Second Lieutenant Toless Morgan -the third in command of the ODSTs _(I DO NOT... CARE!)_."

Courtney then stretched her arms our as her fingers began twitching _Finally! This farce is over! _"That was the most annoying event I have ever been present to experience," Thel bluntly stated "Now, if you will, I would like to know where our weapons and equipment are as-well as the location of our brother's body."

"Your weapons have taken to a secure section of the armory," The Human female named Lynda informed Thel and his men "You can retrieve them when your ready." _You had better be speaking the truth__  
_

"Your comrade's body has been put in cryo," Courtney added "His body will remain frozen until you wish to collect it."

_What is 'cryo?' _"What is _'cryo'_?" Thel asked Courtney.

"Travelling via ship in space can take awhile," The Human called Hallas explained "It's what we use to keep our bodies from aging while travelling in space. We had to modify a cryo pod in order to fit your friends body in."

"Just keep the body of that worm away from Jol's _'cryo pod'_," Anve told the Humans with a few clicks and snaps of his mandibles _Yes, they better _"I do not want to find that body near his presence."

"That's _too bad_," The Human called Adam snapped at Anve "We aren't gonna take anymore exceptions for you fucking morons -who are prone to _'mistakes'_."**  
**

_it is mocking our blind devotion to the Forerunners and the San 'Shyuum _"Watch it, worm." Anve snapped his mandibles at the pathetic creature.

"_Fuck you!_" Adam shot back.

"_Enough!_" Courtney snapped at Adam before turning to Thel "We can't keep the bodies apart; you're just gonna have to put up with this slight _inconvenience_; What Smith did was wrong; he breached multiple protocols and codes. And he would've been punished if you _hadn't killed him_."

"Your discipline is pathetic," Thel shot back at Courtney with an aggressive snap of his mandibles "The worm would have never even thought of such a pathetic and weak thought had it been properly disciplined during its training for your pathetic excuse of a military."

"Reclaimers, can I start my explanation?" The Monarch broke in; obviously trying to stop any further auguring _Perhaps it is better that my fury stays concealed -for the moment._

"Go ahead." Courtney waved for the Monarch to begin.

"I suppose you are wondering why I am here much sooner than I designated," The Monarch began "And I can answer any questions you have with this."

A small photon beam shot from the Monarchs eye; projecting a hologram of some type of Forerunner object _What is that?_

"What is that?" Suras clicked his mandibles in puzzlement.

"A Void Transendor," The Monarch explained "The Reclaimer's ship was in the Void -or: slipspace- for two mini-segments; but with this in my possession, I can make us exit the Void a lot sooner. For example, if a ship was in the Void for a segment, and they had me with them, I could make it that when they exit the Void at the location they were heading too -while a segment may had passed in Void- only five cycles passed in normal space."

_If it speaks the truth... we may be able to end this needless war before it is too late. But why is the Monarch only speaking of this now? _"You did you not mention this earlier?" Thel clicked his mandibles in question at the Monarch.

"I-... I forgot," The Monarch admitted "I have spent the past -approx- one hundred thousand cycles in that facility -alone... I believe I am malfunctioning. I only remembered about the Transendor when the Reclaimer's ship was about to enter the Void. As you may have just heard... I cannot actually predict when the Installations first fired... This is caused by my creators trying to make me as advance as possible; for the more advanced I am, the sooner I shall begin malfunctioning."

_This could be a large problem._

"Rampancy," Courtney mused with the other Humans muttering in agreement "Even Forerunner can't live forever."

_Can this happen again? _"Is there the possibility of this happening again?" Thel asked the Monarch.

"Unlikely," The Monarch replied "I proceeded to scan all the data I have collected over my many years. I discarded the irrelevant data and kept that which matters. While my time left before I fully malfunction is short... -I will survive for another couple hundred years; and with the Monitor's assistance, I may be able to prevent any further malfunctioning -for the moment."

_Data? How could you collect so much data? _"You were within a facility for all that time," Thel clicked his mandibles in confusion "How did you collect so much data."

"Yeah," The Humans called Rhine agreed with Thel "How could you collect so much data in your limited amount of awareness of what was happening in the universe? And how could have you been overloaded with data? You were only created to assist us in locating the Halo Arrays"

"Reclaimers," The Monarch began "I was connected to the most advance Forerunner teleportation grid ever conceived; I had the teleportation data and navigation coordinates for each teleport on the grid. I also had knowledge of many Forerunner intelligence -locations of Forerunner worlds, shield worlds, artifacts, facilities, etc. I also have data of each significant Forerunner being; In sort: I am a living encyclopedia of the universes. And as to how I collected data over the years: I was designed to open my facilities doors every thousand years, and send my Sentinels out to scan the area. And my Sentinels were more advance than any other Sentinel; they could travel in slipspace."

"But unlike the Monitors -who had backup stores for unneeded data -that they could retrieve later- I did not have any back up stores of networks. I was also built with a limited amount of resources and in a limited amount of time -due to the Flood onslaught. It also did not help that I was designed to be more intelligent than any other Forerunner Ancilla in the universe. I had unique programming that required a lot of space in my apparent infinite memory. Now, know this Reclaimers... my creators were advance... but even the mighty Forerunners had limits."

"Will you be a problem?" Courtney asked the Monarch _Its blunt._

"No, Reclaimer," The Monarch replied as it turned to face Courtney "I was -at first- unaware of my minor malfunctioning. But now I am aware; and as I said, I have proceeded to take the necessary precautions to prevent my malfunctioning from continuing -for the moment."

_That is good to hear._

The Human by the name of Cortez let out a chuckle "So you had an advance Forerunner artifact," It pointed at the holographic artifact known as 'the Void Transendor' "But not the Sentinels required to remove you from your mainframe."

_I already asked the Monarch this when we first arrived at this damned ring; and it answered. I wonder as to why the Humans did not ask and learn of this why they were in the Void. _

"I have a simple answer for this, Reclaimer," The Monarch replied "and that is because my creators knew that I may malfunction before I made contact with the Reclaimers. And to make the necessary precautions, they kept the Sentinels required for making me mobile -also known as 'Squires'- away from me -in-case I lost my original purpose and protocol, and became insane on my knowledge -using the Squires to my own personal use -ergo: releasing me, and allowing me to cause all matters of damage. That is why my creators decided to keep the Squires on Halo Arrays; so they would be in the Monitor of the Installation's controls -and the Monitors would last a long time before they finally failed -long enough for the Reclaimers to find the Halo Installations."

_An annoying situation that has caused the deaths of so many. I, however, have gotten over my anger at the Monarch for such an event. But by the looks on the Human's faces, they will not be so easy to forgive._

"For fucks sake," Adam sighed "This is complete and utter bullshit."

"The war would be over already if you damn _creators _were actually as intelligent as they should be." The Human named George complained.

_This farce shall not continue _"Whine over the past later," Thel clicked his mandibles at the disgusting looking Humans "I need not this explanation that should have already reached your pathetic ears. I had my questions answered. And I had my brothers wounds healed. I wish now to retire as we await contact with this damned Monitor -and find out the key to leaving this ring. Is there somewhere me and my men can retire?"

"The brig is all we have." The Human named Lynda smirked at Thel _That is not going to be an option._

"Lynda," Courtney rolled her eyes at Lynda before turning to face Thel "You can have this room to yourselves; just don't wreck anything."

_What reason do we have to damage any of your pathetic objects of no meaning? _Thel pushed this thought aside and walked over to a Human wide seat, waved the Humans sitting on it to move -which they immediately did-, and leaped onto the wide seat where he put his hooves up onto the table between the wide seats "Get out." Thel bluntly clicked his mandibles.

"_Fucking __split-lips._" Thel heard a Human grumble as it and the other Humans and Demon began to make their way out of the room.

"I have to get something from my quarters," A voice that Thel recognized as Courtney said as the Humans filed out of the room "I'll meet you's on the bridge in ten."

"Please do not get too comfortable," The Monarch told the Diverted as it hovered out of the room "We are approaching the entrance to the maintenance tunnels as I speak."

_Good _"Inform us when the Monitor contacts the damn Humans." Thel told the Monarch.

"Of course." The Monarch replied as its metallic voice got distant.

Thel snaked his head around to observe that the Huragok had pulled apart the Human screen and was rewiring it or something "Suras," Thel called to Suras as he sat down on a wide seat across from Thel "Take the Unggoy and Kri to retrieve our and equipment weapons and check up on the three wounded Unggoy. And take the Huragok to the Humans; see if they can have it do something that may give us an advantage."

"Of course, brother." Suras nodded his head in respect as he hopped back up and went to get the Unggoy that were huddled in a corner; preparing to sleep _Lazy creatures._

"I am not going!" Kri screeched; likely hearing what Thel told Suras "This Human stuff is good."

Thel quickly cocked his head behind the wide seat to see Kri drinking from bottles of Human liquid _Hopefully that stuff will kill him _"Kri can stay here." Thel told Suras as he craned his head back around to face the Human screen.

"_Thanks... Ultra..._" Kri slurred "_Your are the best..._"

Thel could not resist his mandibles forming a grin at the creature's stupidity.

All of a sudden, Freyn drove his good arm into the Human's screen; shattering it and sending the Huragok into a state if fear where it floated over to a corner and curled up while moaning and cooing in sadness _Why did he- I need not ask _"Brother, calm yourself." Thel waved for Freyn to come take a seat.

"Damn Humans!" Freyn growled through his gritted mandibles as he approached the wide seat across from the wide seat Thel was seating in "The Demon is enough; but all of them."

_I understand _"I will make sure we are not around such a large group of the bastards again." Thel reassured Freyn as he spotted Suras calmly grabbing the Huragok's tentacles and lead it towards the entrance to the room.

"Such a _pathetic_ _race!_" Freyn snapped his mandibles in anger as he took a seat "And we have to be in their _pathetic_ _ship_; feeling their _pathetic_ _objects_ and _material_ rub against my armor and skin _(I understand your emotions) _Such worms should not be the inheritors of the Forerunner's Empire! They are not... _worthy!_"

_Perhaps they were in another life _"Before Halo was activated... they may had been worthy of such a title." Thel twitched his mandibles in disgust at what he had just said.

"The Forerunners made a grave mistake," Freyn rubbed the bandage across his neck as Anve took a seat next to Freyn "If the Humans were to take control of such technology... we would be doomed -for I doubt Humanity will forgive our slight."

_I was hoping to avoid such an eventuality for as long as I could._

"Not even we can forgive ourselves," Anve mused to himself "Though, there are the Sangheili that will feel nothing for what we did to the Humans."

_And some Sangheili may not even forgive the Humans for actions they inflicted on us that we made them inflict. But will they act? If they do, those who wish for no more bloodshed may have to stand against their own kin... The Humans may not need to destroy us... _

_W__e may destroy ourselves..._

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to my readers -who are increasing with every new chapter!**

**This chapter was a bit of a bother to write. I had to go back and forward; fixing things. So if you spot plot-holes, typos, and lore mistakes please tell me in a review or P.M and I will immediately fix it and credit you! Any plot-hole I fix will be reported in the next chapter.**

**A few major side characters inspired and created by certain of my followers appeared in this chapter, and I will point them out.**

**Doctor Hallas Day - gruntbdayparty37.  
****Major Adam Franti (Night's Shadow) - Adam95F.  
****First Lieutenant Rick Cylus (Night's Wing) Nightwing141.  
****Second Lieutenant Toless Morgan (Night's Anger) - NightsAnger.**

**These characters may not have gotten much of an appearance but I swear their roles will get bigger!**

******New Follower alert! Ding Ding Ding! ARC N7, Curiouswolf, and gumskull4.**

******Now, since you two have become followers, I shall make you into major side characters! **

******gumskull4 has already said that he would like a character that is the strong and silent type (Him and I like characters like that, and I know a few that have appeared in the Halo universe)  
I have figured out the character (And will reveal him at the end of the next chapter) and I ask that gumskull4 tell me the name he wants for his character before the next chapter is submitted (or I'll have to make up a name) **

******ARC N7 is a tricky one (These damned online names, lol) so I would appreciate it if he tells me in a P.M or review the details he wants for his character; or if for various reasons he does not want a major side character featured after him.  
I have also looked over ARC N7's profile and seen that he is German. I assume Google has some type of translating system, else I may have a problem.**

******Curiouswolf will also be a problem so if Wolf would please tell me in a P.M or review the details he would like for his character or if he doesn't want to be featured as a major side character for various reasons**

******Like I said: please point out any lore mistakes or typos I did; and just review for the hell of it as-well, because I love reading your feedback. Also... if anyone is willing to be my Beta Reader, I would very much appreciate it (Might be better if I had a second pair of skilled eyes go over one of my chapters before I submit it. This may, of course, slow down the speed it takes for me to submit a chapter.**

******Next chapter will be Vale's POV as-well as some interaction between Red-098 and the survivors of the _Kryptonite _on the ONI Prowler (Don't worry! No spoilers of the story will be revealed -just the names of some characters that survived the events on Installation 06.**

**************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, xX****Life'sAPopsicleXx, gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7.**


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Calm Before The Storm

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I went back and fixed a small mistake. I was typing Lynda's last name wrong. It is 'Keyes' not 'Keys'.  
Lyndakey1, I hope you don't mind this small change from your ****alias. I have also changed it that your character is the wife of Jacob Keyes's brother; not one of his cousins. I did this to make her have a closer connection with Jacob and Miranda.  
**

**URGENT: PLEASE READ THE DAMN END NOTES!  
**

* * *

**[ CHAPTER FOURTEEN: CALM BEFORE THE STORM ]**

* * *

_The date was February 9th, 2535. And the Covenant had started their invasion of Jericho VII._

_Green Team was assigned to halt the hostile Covenant forces advancing on the city of Palatine, and assist civilians in EVAC._

_Due to the wide range that Green Team needed to cover, Linda-58 -Green Team's leader- decided to split the team up into splinter teams._

_Beta-Green Team was one of the splinters._

_I was in cover behind a wrecked car. To my left -leaning out of cover and firing his BR55HB Battle Rifle- was Beta-Green One -Petty Officer Second Class Red-098, Beta-Green's leader. And to my left was a large SPARTAN who was reloading his M739 Light Machine Gun -or: SAW-. The large SPARTAN was Beta-Green Three -or: Petty Officer Second Class Jorge-52._

_I had just finished reloading my MA5B Assault Rifle; throwing my empty clip aside, and leaning up over the hood of the wrecked car._

_"Engaging Ultra." I announced as I began firing the Assault Rifle; with its M118 7.62x51mm FMJ AP rounds slamming into the shields of an Elite Ultra._

_Jorge finished off an Elite Major before shifting his fire to the Elite Ultra I was targeting "Need a hand?" He joked as his SAW's __M118 7.62x51mm FMJ AP started to bring the Ultra's shields down._

___The Ultra's shields finally burst into electric static as its shields were finally lowered; and the Elite didn't even have time to roar in anger as a FMJ round split its helmet open with purple blood spraying out._

___I smirked at the dead Elite as the Grunts around it entered a panic; with four of them running into a nearby small convenience store, and the other two pulling out their plasma grenades and began charging at us._

___"Hate it when they do that." Jorge growled as he used his strength to jump up onto the wrecked car's roof, and fired five shots; dropping the Grunts as Red killed three of the four fleeing Grunts before the last one managed to get inside the building._

___Despite Jorge's heavy than normal MJOLNIR armor, he still had the agility and endurance of any other SPARTAN._

___I loved the big guy; as I loved all of my brothers and sisters._

___"Beta-Green Two, advance and engage Major class Grunt located in convenience store," Red waved at the store as he and Jorge began firing at a small swarm of Drones that were exiting a broken window of a nearby skyscraper._

_"Affirmative." I nodded as I slung my Assault rifle over my back to hear it connect to the MWHS with a 'click', and then I proceeded to pull out my two M7/Caseless SMGs, and jumped onto the car's roof as Jorge leaped back down into cover behind the car._

_"We got you covered, Sheila." Jorge reassured me over the COM as I jumped off of the car's roof, and ran towards the convenience store; firing my SMGs at the Drone swarm as I ran._

_All of a sudden -as I was nearing the entrance to the alley that went behind the store- an Elite deactivated its optical camo, and swung its energy sword at me._

_"Shit." I muttered as I quickly leaped back; aiming and firing my SMGs at the large Alien._

_As I thought would happen: the __5x23mm_ M443 Caseless FMJ rounds simply bounced off of the Elites shields.

_Due to the Elite's shield strength, and armor color and shape, -its armor being a dark brown and maroon, and its helmet being similar to a Ultra's; but thinner and without the back slope- I figured it was Spec Ops -which was odd since this was an invasion, and all the Covenant soldiers were tasked with simply killing Humans. What I found odder, though, was that it was by itself._

_I quickly slid my SMGs onto my thighs, and leaped at the Elite; landing a kick into its chest; but, of course, its shields bounced me back, but I managed to bring them down half way._

_The Elite let out a roar of anger as it charged me._

_I simply dodged out-of-the-way then quickly moved behind it where I grabbed its sword arm and pulled it behind its back -it was roaring in pain and anger as I did this- with me quickly snapping its wrist; depleting its energy shields_

_The Elite let out a roar as it dropped its sword and snapped around; swinging its good hand as it turned; I, of course, simply grabbed the hand and snapped it as well before pulling the aliens arm down -bringing its head down- and lifting my knee up to catch the falling Elite in the face; sending to flying back due to the force._

_With the Elite on the ground -purple blood seeping from the gaps in its helmet- I quickly drew my SMGs and shot two rounds from each off them; leaving four bullet holes in the Elites helmet; with blood oozing out of the holes._

_With the Elite dead, I jumped through the stored window -shattering the glass- and turned to aim my SMGs at the Grunt._

_The Grunt had its hands in front of its face and seemed to be crying "Please..." I heard the squeaky Grunt translated voice appear in my ears "Do not kill, Demon, please!"_

_I simply chuckled at the small pathetic creature and raised my SMGs and fired at the Grunt; with it letting out a small cry and gurgle as bright blue blood poured and squirted from the bullets holes before the small creature died._

_With the Grunt dead, and no more Covenant soldiers appearing on my motion tracker, I was satisfied that the store was cleared._

_I turned around and made my way out to find the other Spec Ops Elites. _

_Jorge had a Spec Ops Elite pinned to the ground, and was bending its left leg back behind its back; while the Alien was roaring in pain._

_Red, however, was on the back of another Spec Ops Elite. The Elite, of course, couldn't withstand the MJOLNIR's weight, and fell under Red's weight with Red quickly drawing his M6D PDW and shooting three rounds into the Elites head; with the first two bringing its shields down and the last ending its life._

_Red then proceeded to make his way over to Jorge -who was still bending the Elite's leg back- and shot a round into the struggling Elite's head._

_"You just gotta go ruin the fun." Jorge complained as he threw the Elite's leg down and grabbed his SAW and kicked the body of a nearby dead Drone._

_I smiled as I made my way over to my team; knowing that I had a great family._

* * *

**September 8, 2555 ****[1236 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Unknown _Sahara_-class heavy Prowler.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

Barracks in Prowlers were small; the surviving crew of the _Kryptonite _had to improvise, and mattresses were set up in hallways. But the COs of the _Kryptonite_ were given the barracks -not the same barracks as the crew of the Prowler shared, thankfully.

The barracks had bunks located in every place a person could fit one; with posters, photos, and other personal possessions from the COs of the _Kryptonite _littered over the room. The floor of the barracks was metal which could prove a problem if someone rolled out of bed -thankfully most of the ground was covered with mattresses-, and the walls were very revealing of the ship's infrastructure; with pipes, wires, and the works all revealed.

"Are you okay?" Red asked Nai as he placed a hand onto her forehead; checking her temperature.

"You could'a refrained from bashing your head." Lynda bluntly remarked from her bed.

_She seems to be getting worse _Red was worried about Lynda; she wasn't around a lot, and Red often found her laying on her bed; doing nothing.

"I'm fine." Nai reassured Red as she grabbed a bottle of water that was on a table next to her bunk _Of course you are. And I know that you would tell me if you were in pain._

"I'll go get some more water." White told them as he hopped up from his kneeling position next to the bunk and made his way to the barrack's entrance.

"Could you get me some vodka?" Lynda asked White as he exited the room.

_She's not joking around _"Are you okay?" Red asked Lynda.

Lynda let out a sigh "West wanted to inform me on the status of my family members, but I decided to wait until we got back to Earth where I would have my own quarters in-case-... in-case the news was _bad_ _(This can't be good)_ But while I was eating a meal in the mess... That _fucker _Enterarj -who claims to be a SPARTAN- came right up to me and told me that my brother-in-law and his daughter were... _killed_."_  
_

_Damn _"He did?" Red asked; almost letting shock enter his voice.

"Yeah," Lynda nodded from her bed "The fucking cocksucker went ahead and said how they died _(He mocks the SPARTAN title) _Apparently my brother-in-law was killed by the _damn Flood_... and his daughter was killed by the _mother fucking Prophet of fucking Truth!_"

_How unfortunate _"That's not a good thing to hear." Red quietly stated.

Red wouldn't say sorry because he didn't really care for anyone other than his comrades, and he never felt sorry for the dead friend or family of someone he knew. Lynda knew this, and would probably be more offended if he _did _say he was sorry.

"They died like heroes, though," Nai stated to Red, and it also seemed like she was reassuring Lynda as-well "Miranda's actions stopped the end of everything... and Jacob's_... _he crashed his ship on that ring knowing it may be his death; but he _would not _let the Covenant get their hands on the ships data. And according to the reports... he gave the Flood one hell of a fucking fight as he died."

"Yeah." Lynda quietly nodded; tears forming in her eyes _She didn't deserve that. She has been through so much; she didn't deserve that._

"You know," First Lieutenant Rick Cylus -or: Night's Wing- poked his head out from his bunk "I'm pretty sure you can have Enterarj court-marshaled for that."_She can._

"Yeah," Lieutenant Joseph Gamble agreed from his bunk; as he finished eating a sandwich he had for lunch "Isn't that like... _hateful harassment_ or something like that?"

"It's more than that," Nai added as she grabbed a sandwich from the plate on the table to her side "He broke a lot of rules saying what he said; too many to count."

"I plan on court-marshaling the fucker," Lynda reassured them _Go- wait... I shouldn't let my personal emotions get in the way_ "Bunch of _fucking pricks_ who _disgrace_ the UNSC."

White came back into the room with another bottle of water; but no vodka.

"_Damn it_." Lynda grumbled as she saw that White had no vodka.

"Didn't have any." White explained as he came over and handed the water bottle to Nai.

"Thanks." Nai smiled at White _That is more than a smile._

Red couldn't help but stare sternly at White; who started back in confusion.

"_Red__?_" Nai snapped at him "Don't be rude."

_Sorry. _"Sorry, ma'am." Red apologized.

"_The fuck was that about?_" White questioned Red.

_Does he want me to answer? _Thankfully, Red didn't have to answer as West walked into the barracks.

"Sierra." He said as Red hopped up and stood to attention.

"Sir!" Red saluted as the rest of the people in the barracks saluted from where they were.

"At ease." West waved them down with a polite smile.

"Can we _help you_?" Lynda questioned West.

Red knew that Lynda hated ONI -mostly built off of Nai's hate. And despite Red stating that West was decent for an ONI agent, she still was aggressive towards him.

"I wanted to speak to Red." West explained.

_I know what this is about _"What about, sir." Red asked as he took a seat on his bunk.

"You already know; but just to indulge the rest of you, I will gladly say that Enterarj interrupted my lunch break; stating that he bumped into Sierra-098 in teh hall, and the _'old psycho man'_ had said that he wished he ate his dead sister."

Gamble burst out laughing.

"It's not a nice feeling." White stated.

Red turned to face White "I'm sorry about that, sir."

White curiously eyed West _He doesn't fully know what I have told him yet _"It's fine," White reassured Red before he began smiling "After all... I'm eating _your_ sister."_  
_

The entire barracks burst out laughing as Nai's face turned red _Oh what the hell is that feeling?! _Red simply stared coldly at White as the barracks began to settle down.

White smirked at him as West cleared his throat; still chuckling a bit "Perhaps we can eat in the interview room?"

_Affirmative _"Sounds good, sir." Red immediately hopped up and followed West out of the room as he heard White grunt in pain and the barracks erupt into laughter again.

"You like _turkey_?" West asked them as they made their way down the Prowler's hall; away from the barracks.

Thankfully -due to the Prowler's size- the didn't have to go far to reach the interview room -originally the Prowler's mission room.

_Turkey? Love it. _"Yes, sir." Red replied indifferently.

"Thank God. Cause that's all we got for the sandwiches," West elaborated "We barely have enough food left to last us back to Earth; you guys eat a lot."

_You had no idea what we had to eat on Halo _"Sir, the taste of creatures we named 'Bulligons' leaves an everlasting taste that can only be removed with gravy covered spiced chicken with salted potato spuds covering it." Red smiled at the thought of the feast they had when they were first bought onto the Prowler.

"You's couldn't have waited till we got back to Earth? Could you's?" West asked in annoyance as they arrived at the interview room.

_I could have- wait? You're allowing me to say that? _"Sir," Red said as they entered "I recommend you keep me in handcuffs; just in case."

"You can drop the _'__sir'_ shit," West waved as they approached their seats _Affirmative_ "And if you recommend it, then _so be it_."

"Frasine,' West called out to the ships A.I as they Red took his seat and West went over to make himself some Coffee _-again _"Call in the guards, and get some food."

"Oh guards... _oh food_..." Frasine joked through the room's intercoms.

West finished getting his coffee and walked over to the table "ONI interview: Incident 071824260, session 5, continue." He said.

"Vale's POV, now." 098 told West.

"I'm actually not as annoyed to hear from the Sangheili's POV as I was before," West stated "In-fact, if what you say is true... then _I __actually like Vale_."

_That could make toying with the food's emotions... more amusing... _"Shall I start, then?" Red asked; squinting his eyes at nothing.

"yeah." West excitingly nodded his head and waved for Red to go ahead as he pulled out his Data-pad and took a sip of his coffee.

_Go away... Go away!... THIS IS MY FUCKING HEAD!- For the current time... food... for the current time..._

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[1502 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**************Prophet Of Pity's Quarters, The Base Of Forerunner Portal, Installation 06.**

**Vale Nar 'Sarasee...**

* * *

Vale had to slightly move to his left as the Prophet of Pity threw his goblet at him "_THEY ARE INSIDE THE HOLY RING -THE KEY TO OUR SALVATION?!_" The Prophet of Pity screamed in rage.

_The headaches he is causing me is becoming more and more disruptive _"Yes, holy Prophet of Pity." Vale calmly clicked his mandibles in reply.

"_WHY DID YOU NOT TRY TO STOP THEM?!" The Prophet screamed._

_I did try... but, of course, that will not be enough _"I did," Vale calmly clicked his mandibles in reply "But our ships did not arrive in time to stop them."

_I know what he is going to say next _"_HERESY! YOU LET THEM ESCAPE!_" The Prophet roared

_Yes. Just what I thought he would say _"It was impossible to stop the Human ship any faster," Vale calmly clicked his mandibles in explanation "In order to catch the Humans, I would need to do the impossible -which I cannot do. If the holy Covenant were capable of doing the impossible... Humanity would have already be destroyed, and the Great Journey would have been started."

_Again, I know what he is going to reply with _"_YOU WILL BE PUNISHED FOR YOUR HERESY!_" The Prophet screamed; Vale saw Careekius -who was standing next to the Prophet of Pity, and was now donned in the Jiralhanae Chieftain armor- winch his eyes at the screaming.

_As I suspected, so predictable _"Take me to the council then," Vale calmly clicked his mandibles in reply "Have the council punish me for being unable to do the impossible. But know that they will not accept to punish me; for it would only make them look like fools."

The Prophet had an annoyed face of defeat on him and let out a loud, annoyed, angry, and defeated groan "_WHY ARE YOU NOT OUT THERE LOOKING FOR THEM?!_" The Prophet of Pity screamed.

Vale noticed Careekius was trying to contain a grin over the Prophet's sudden change of topic _It is good to know that the Prophet of pity's stupidity is noticed not just by Sangheili _"The search is being coordinated by my most trusted Ship-Master at my command -Yexyn Sarasai -Ship-Master of the _Sinful Wind_," Vale explained; twitching his mandibles in annoyance of the Prophet "And as to why I am not coordinating it from the command center: I made the decision to inform you about the current events; less you complain as to why I have not presumed to inform about such drastic turn of events -and go into yet another rage."_  
_

The Prophet -yet again- had a shocked expression on his face "_YOU DARE?!_" He screamed

_By the Gods; yes I dare _"Yes." Vale calmly clicked his mandibles in reply.

"Holy Prophet of Pity," Careekius made a legal interruption "I believe the Sangheili in the corner wishes to be spoken of." _Thank the Gods I did not let him be executed._

The Prophet's gaze shifted to the quiet Sangheili who he seemed to only now notice "Who are you?" The Prophet of Pity asked; rubbing his wobbles "A worthy worker of the path indeed, if you are but so patient for I -the holy Prophet of Pity- to have this civil conversation with the oh so worthy Fleet-Master."

_Civil? _Vale watched as his most trusted field operative stepped out of the shadows and bowed to his knees in respect "Qrs 'Jaragsai." He told the Prophet his name with a quiet click of his hidden mandibles; with the voice leaving his mandibles being quiet, emotionless, and cold, very cold.

"A sword-master." The Prophet observed; his rubbing of his wobbles now went into a massage.

"But a good one." Vale clicked his mandibles in confirmation.

Qrs 'Jaragsai was Vale's most trusted and skilled field operative. He was a Special Operation's Officer: wearing midnight black armor -but unlike the rest of his men in his team, the glowing lights coming from the eye sockets in his helmet were red -not blue. Sheathed on Qrs's left thigh was an energy sword that was widely known to glow red -not blue.

Another well know fact about Qrs was that he almost became Arbiter -but managed to regain his honor by eliminating a Heretic assassin -sent by a large group of Heretics- during his hearing -saving the Hierarchs. And since he saved them, the Hierarchs decided to give him a second chance that did not require him becoming the Arbiter, and sent him to kill these Heretics -which he succeeded in doing without a single one of his team dying.

Vale was lucky that the council decided to have him assigned to Vale's fleet.

"Why am I -the holy Prophet of Pity- blessed with the presence of such a one _worthy _to walk the Great Journey's sacred path -which all those who believe walk?" The Prophet of Pity asked Qrs.

Qrs looked towards Vale _He would never speak without my consent _Vale nodded his head for Qrs to speak with him craning his head back around to face the Prophet of Pity "Your holiness, I came for your blessing." Qrs clicked his hidden mandibles in his normal indifferent way._  
_

"My -the holy Prophet of Pity's- blessing?" The Prophet of Pity asked Qrs; curiosity and puzzlement in his voice.

"I will not be here for your next blessing sermon, your holiness," Qrs calmly clicked his hidden mandibles in explanation "And I and my brothers wish to be blessed for our holy mission."

The Prophet let out an annoyed moan "I -the holy and most noble Prophet of Pity- have no time to spend on those so minor on the Great Journey -that all true believers walk _(That is unfair) _But I -the holy Prophet of Pity- do, however, have such time to spend on a hero of the Covenant."

Qrs stayed knelt in respect in-front of the Prophet of Pity _I did warn him of this. Thankfully, I do not sense shock or disappointment in him _"Then, your holiness, I must decline such an offer," Qrs clicked his hidden mandibles in a courteous refusal "I do not believe it is wise for me to be blessed and my worthy men not."

"_You refuse such an offer_ from _me_ -the holy Prophet of Pity?" _This could go many ways -all of which are bad._

Qrs did not flinch at the possible outcome to what could happen next _Please be resourceful and strategic enough to not require my aid _"Yes." Qrs simply clicked his hidden mandibles in conformation.

"Well," The Prophet floated over to him "It is not very courteous -even heresy- to refuse a Prophet's -the voice of our Gods -the Forerunners- offer."

"Your holiness," Qrs clicked his hidden mandibles in indifference "I cannot call myself a leader if I get such an honor and my men can not. Surely you understand that this is a strategic action other than one of defiance." _Perhaps he may have worked his way out of this.__  
_

"Holy Prophet of Pity," Careekius made a legal interruption "this worthy Sangheili is the leader of the worthy Fleet-Master's most skilled team of Special Operation Officers. They have been tasked with finding and killing the Heretics, Humans, and Demon. Perhaps a few moments to bless them all may bring about a victory that will make your name sung throughout the Covenant." _Of course: convince him that there is something for him out of this. But I desired to see if Qrs could get himself out of this._

"You did not tell me -the holy Prophet of Pity- your holy duty," The Prophet placed a hand on Qrs's shoulder _You already knew, though _"I -the holy Prophet of Pity- shall be but only honored to give those who will bring about such an end to abominations a blessing through a blessing sermon -may the Gods give you guidance."

"I thank you, your holiness," Qrs clicked his hidden mandibles in cold gratitude "If you will give me but a moment, I shall collect my men."

"Proceed to do this, oh so worthy Qrs 'Jaragsai." The Prophet kindly waved for him to leave.

"I must speak with the worthy Fleet-Master," Careekius told the Prophet of Pity as Qrs got up from his kneeling position _about what _"I ask for but a moment while you are giving the worthy Sangheili their blessing sermon."

"Of course." The Prophet waved for him to leave at his leisure _Is it a chance for Careekius to spy on me for the Prophet of Pity?_

"Come, brother." Vale gestured to the door to the Prophet of Pity's quarters as the Honor Guard moved out of the way before Vale turned around and made his way to the door with it hissing open as he approached it; Qrs and Careekius right behind him.

"Please make haste," The Prophet of Pity called after them as they exited the Prophet's quarters "I -the holy Prophet of Pity- have much time that I cannot waste."

The doors hissed closed behind them, and Qrs began to speak "With all due respect, Chieftain, I need not have your assistance with getting me out of such a position. But I thank you for your assistance in allowing the Prophet to spend his most precious time on both me and my men."

_Another fact that I like about Qrs _Vale was glad when he found out that Qrs did not agree on the conflict between the Jiralhanae and the Sangheili, as-well as Vale. It was a reassuring thought to know that not all of those under his command were blinded by needless hatred.

"I apologize, perhaps I may had been able to wait before making my move." Careekius apologized as they walked into the base's streets.

"It matters not," Qrs clicked his hidden mandibles in reassurance at Careekius as he broke off from them and made his way towards down another street towards the area his men were stationed."The past is irrelevant; the present and future is but all that matters."

Vale and Careekius watched Qrs leave before continuing down the streets.

"Is it inappropriate to laugh about the Prophet's rage?" Careekius finally asked as they stopped off to the side of the street as about two dozen Unggoy filed past them.

_It being inappropriate does not stop Yexyn _"Very," Vale nodded his head before cocking it around to face Careekius "But I do not give a damn."

"Good." Careekius smiled before letting out a hearty roar of laughter; with patrols and other Covenant soldiers turning to look at him.

_I am Glad to know it is not just Sangheili that think of the Prophet of Pity as a fool. Now, to what you wished to speak to me about _"What did you require to speak to me about?" Vale clicked him mandibles in question at the Jiralhanae Chieftain as his laughter died down.

"I wanted to ask if you planned on going with Ship-Master Yexyn 'Sarasai in finding the Heretics and Humans," Careekius explained as he leaned in closer to Vale in order to whisper to him "I did not want to ask; it is just that the Prophet wanted me to ask you myself -rather than him taking his holy time to do so."

_I am blessed to have come across such an amusing and friendly Jiralhanae _Vale could not resist his mandibles forming a grin "I do not plan on going with Ship-Master Yexyn on the _Sinful Wind_; I might have considered it if the holy Prophet of Pity did not try to kill my men every-time I turn my back."

"I will tell the Prophet in direct quotes of this," Careekius chuckled "Or will he will not have me punished for it?"

_He will _"I would not quote," Vale clicked his mandibles in warning "Just for caution of a high likely hood of your punishment."

"I will heed your words with caution." Careekius stated as he turned to make his way back to the Prophet's quarters.

Vale could not resist letting at a chuckle as Careekius walked away; and stretched his long neck and looked up at the sky; seeing the line of the holy ring in the sky.

_That is right _Vale had been so busy over the last couple of cycles that he had almost forgotten one important fact...

_I am on Halo..._

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you to my readers!**

**A short chapter, I know. But it serves to introduce a new character (Qrs 'Jaragsai -inspired by my follower Qrs-jg) and do some character development for Vale.**

**Please point out any typos or lore mistakes in a review or P.M. And please review to just make me happy! Also, feel free to P.M me at any time for any reason! I am always happy to talk to my readers; though, my time-zone is GMT/UTC + 10:00 hour so don't worry is I don't get back to you straight away.**

**Next chapter will properly introduce the Monitor of Installation 06 -16807 Fleighted Fire. And will explain the plan for the plot in the future -lots of action with the Flood coming soon! And lots of ODSTs will be developed as-well!**

**I wrote this entire chapter in a day, which is very exciting for me! Eventually, I will be doing a course and the rate at which chapters are submitted may decrease. But know that I will always work on this FanFic at evening, and I did great while writing this during the evening; starting at Vale's ****POV ****at the start of the Sun's set and getting to here before 8:30! (Maybe not as good as others, but still a highscore for me!)**

**Also: I noticed that some people Favorited this story but aren't following it. I will still proceed to make characters out of them, but I urge that they hit follow!**

**Killer999: I have no idea how I'm going to make him into a character without his help. Killer, I ask that you please specify in a review or P.M the details what you want for your character, or if you don't want to be featured as a character.**

**SomeRelic: first of all: thanks for coming over here one my One-Shot (That I have since removed due to its irrelevance) And I ask that you give me some details on your character's ****specifications, else, I'll have to make up the details myself.**

**Yayboy: ?! Please, just give me some details because I have no idea what the hell I'm going to do with you, lol.**

**tvaledez: Again, no idea. If you are reading this, please P.M or say in a review the details, or if you don't want to be featured as a character!**

**ultimate idiot: Yeah... Nah. Nothing! Like I said There^^^^^**

**Lostmax13: This idiot here is my brother (No idea why he keeps naming his online alias after our pet dog that mauled out pet cat) And he doesn't even read this (No idea why he Favorited it) So, dumbass, tell me in real life the details for your character or don't be featured as one (P.S: I am not an asshole to my brother. This is harmless brotherly banter) **

******************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, xX****Life'sAPopsicleXx, gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7.**


	16. Chapter Fifteen: The Monitor

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: URGENT!**

I recently figured something out: I have Favorited a couple of stories that I don't mean to read at the moment, but come back to later when I finished reading the stories I am on at the moment.  
I figured out that other may be using the same strategy. So I'm making the decision to only make characters for people who left ONE single review which will tell me that they are actually reading the story NOW.  
I don't want to make a character out of someone who may not even read up to the part his character comes in.  
Currently, people I already made characters out of that haven't reviewed will still be featured. But like I said: if you want to be featured as an OC (Which I love the idea of) you need to leave at least one review.  
I hope you guys understand what I trying to do here.

A second thing: upon research I discovered that the "539" part of Fleighted Fire's name is inconsistent to the Monitor of Installation's actual name. Apparently -while the Monitor's name isn't known- its name starts with 16807. I have since gone back and changed the 539 to 16807.

One last thing: sorry if the end A/N is long, but I ask that you read it all for it contains some details you may be interested in.

Now! To the story!

* * *

**[ CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE MONITOR ]**

* * *

_I watched from the blood-tray as the single Covenant ship unleashed hell on the city of Pirth._

_Nobody ever thought that the Covenant would find Arcadia this soon -let alone attack it! But then again, nobody ever thought something like this would ever happen to Humanity._

_When Red -or who they thought was Red- died, we left Harvest for Arcadia. And when I heard about what happened at Harvest, I knew we dodged a bullet. But our fortune finally ran out, now. And I wished that we just went straight to Earth._

_I was just thankful that I enlisted into the Navy when I wanted to -not when my parents said I should. And since I was enlisted, I was legally allowed to carry a M6C PDW -which I used to good use against Covenant soldiers during me and my parents escape of Pirth. _

_usually UNSC personal had to report to their post if a Covenant invasion happened. But since I was not yet assigned to a ship -and there was no ship for me to be assigned to- me turning up there would prove useless. I would, however, still follow protocol and arrive at my post -which no doubt had EVAC Pelicans for UNSC personal. And I would use this to get me and my family off of the planet._

_At first the Marine Lieutenant in-charged of the EVAC Pelican at my assigned post was reluctant about letting my parents come with me. But then I asked him why they couldn't come since there was plenty of room. I also questioned what the point of fighting for Humanity was if we could not save Humans._

_Now I was here: staring at a Phoenix-class colony ship hovering above the city; providing support for UNSC ground and air forces around the city of Pirth. I smiled at the sight of the ship and I looked down to the passing industrial streets between the skyscrapers of Pirth to see UNSC Marines and large, hulking, heavily armored soldiers engaging Covenant foot units._

_A shot rang out and I slightly turned my head to look at the Marine that was sniping Covenant soldiers from the blood-tray._

_"Tango down." He said in a voice that sounded pure African; matching his skin tone._

_I heard static over his helmet's COM as whoever he was talking to replied._

_"Fuck!" I heard my dad curse in pain and I quickly turned around to see what he was swearing about, to only see the medic bandaging up his wound._

_Both my mum and dad had been wounded as we escaped. Dad got a piece of shrapnel from an explosion caused by a suicide Grunt lodged into his ankle -not bad enough to stop him from moving, thankfully. And my mum was more wounded mentally, as she was in a large amount of shock, and wouldn't talk to the medic, or even move. She just sat on the seat; staring at nothing._

_Satisfied that my dad was okay, I turned back around to look out the blood-tray._

_Two more shots rang out from the Marine's sniper as he fired at distant Covenant forces in Pirth's streets and buildings._

_"Two tangos down." He reported as he reloaded his SRS99._

_I peered over the Pelican's edge to see one of the giant, heavily armored soldiers leap over an Elite Minor -which I thought was impossible due to the Elite's height- before landing behind it and grabbing it around its chest, lifting it up into the air, and brought his knee up as he slammed the Elite's back down onto his knee; severing the Elite's spine and killing it instantly.  
_

_I did a lot of research about the Covenant -more specifically, the Elites- during my training, and there was no way a Human could ever outmatch an Elite's strength "Who are those soldiers?" I asked the Marine sniper._

_"Your guess is as good as mine, ma'am," The solider replied indifferently as he fired off another shot "Tango down."_

_The Marine sniper was a Private First Class which made him a lower rank than me; so I was a higher rank than the Marine -which was odd since I was mostly around people who were a higher rank then me._

_Since we were getting further away from the city, I was about to go and sit down with my parents But I saw a light blue beam of light shoot out of a shattered window from a distant skyscraper._

_I didn't waste any time, and immediately picked up a target designator and scanned the skyscraper. And as I suspected, I spotted two Jackal snipers._

_"Marking two targets." I announced to the Marine sniper._

_"Thanks, ma'am," He nodded as he shot two rounds off before reloading "Two tangos down; you would make a good spotter."_

_I laughed at that "I don't do well under pressure. Hell, I was lucky to get into the Navy."_

_"Navy needs everyone they can get, ma'am," He replied "But they wouldn't let someone who is unfit for the Navy in."_

_"My CO says I'll get a psych evaluation every time I move up in rank," I stated "But he doesn't think I'll make it to a command crew -if I even survive that long."_

_He let out a shot but didn't say 'tango down' instead he got up and said "Missed. We're out of range." _

_I watched as he put his SRS99 up into the holding nets above the seats and take a seat for himself "Th-"_

_My dad interrupted before he could begin "Stop chatting up my daughter, asshole." I couldn't help but grin at confused and puzzled expression that appeared on the Marine's face "Navy and greenhorns don't fix -and that's coming from personal __experience."_

_The Marine narrowed his eyes at my dad as I let out a chuckle and went over to sit by my parents; b__ut as I was taking my seat next to my parents, pain went through my left hand "Owe." I grabbed my hand as I took a seat next to my dad._

_"You okay?" My dad asked in a worried tone._

_"My hand's just hurting again." I replied; rubbing my hand, and knowing that Red was still out there..._

_Fighting..._

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[1521 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

******Unknown Forerunner Maintenance Tunnel, Unknown Service Platform, Installation 06.  
**

**Courtney Jsarez...**

* * *

Being inside Halo felt strangely _safe_, and _haunting_ at the same time.

So-far, from what the _Kryptonite's _radars and sensors picked up: the one-way tunnel -there were more ways but they were sealed of with giant hatches- kept on going throughout Halo's infrastructure.

The _Kryptonite _was only able to go one-way, and going backwards to go out the giant hatch they entered the tunnel through was impossible -even if the hatch did open back up.

The tunnel was full of odd platforms and Forerunner architectural structures and towers that seemed to be there to make the tunnel look architecturally pretty and _less __empty_.

The platforms also had another good use: the Monitor stated via _another _hacking of the _Kryptonite's _bridge's intercoms that it was against its _"__protocol"_ for it to physically enter the ship. Now because of that, Courtney, the Diverted, the Monarch, and a few Fireteams had to exit the _Kryptonite _and use a Pelican to get to a "service platform" -as the Monarch called it- in order to speak with the Monitor._  
_

Courtney left her XO -Juan Cortez- in command of the _Kryptonite _as she went to meet the Monitor.

Thel 'Lodamee also wanted to come. And it bought only its non wounded Elite comrades with it -ergo: Suras 'Johanamee and Anve 'Lodamee. But as they were leaving the ship on a Pelican, when Courtney called Thel by its last name -when it came to the military, she only called friends by their first name- the Elite stated that it and its Elite comrades decided to get rid of the '_ee_' suffix at the end of their names to signal them no longer being in the Covenant. Courtney guessed the '_ee_' suffix was some type of title given to warriors of their race or something like that -she hardly cared enough to ask.

Coming with Courtney, the Diverted, and the Monarch were some handpicked Fireteams.

Lynda led her own Fireteam -Fireteam Absolute- which consisted of Lynda herself: who was the Fireteam's leader and was equipped with a simple MA5B Assault Rifle,  
Sergeant Major Wade Tulnai: a rifleman and Absolute's second in command who carried a MA5B as-well, but had a stockless M90 CAWS slung over his back,  
Staff Sergeant Jacob Dalton: Absolute's scout who was equipped with a DMR,  
Lance Corporal Mysef Alum: who was Absolute's designated marksman and was equipped with a SRS99C-S2 AM as-well as having a M7 SMG on his left thigh, and there was Lance Corporal Edmund Howartz: Absolute's heavy weapons specialist who was equipped with a SAW and had a M41 SSR MAV/AW with four missiles slung over his back.

Courtney also had a newly formed Fireteam -Fireteam Wreckage- come with them which consisted of Sierra Red-098: who was the team leader and had a BR55 Battle Rifle,  
Corporal Lex Collins: who was Wreckage's heavy weapons specialist and second in command who was equipped with a M247 General Purpose Machine Gun in her hands, had a M7 SMG on her left thigh, and had a M319 Individual Grenade Launcher slung over her back,  
Lance Corporal Tom Harvad: who was a riflemen and was equipped with a MA5B Assault Rifle and had a M7 SMG on his left thigh,  
Lance Corporal Dominic Tesforn: Wreckage's Scout and was equipped with a DMR,  
Private First Class Peter Call: another riflemen who was equipped with a MA37 Assault Rifle,  
and Lance Corporal Mary Trinsky: Wreckage's designated marksman who was equipped with a SRS99 and had a MA5B Assault Rifle slung over her back.

With two full Fireteams, the Monarch and its Sentinels, and three Elites covering her, Courtney knew they had the Monitor by the balls if it tried anything. That was until they arrived at the platform and saw that the Monitor was surrounded by at least 200 Sentinels.

"Fireteam Night," Courtney said over the secure COM channel -that only her and the Fireteam's had access to- as she hopped out of the hovering Pelican's blood-tray; the Elites, Absolute, and Wreckage right behind her "this is Guest. We are at the ballroom and require status on your visual of the Ballroom along with the Host and his hence -how copy? over."

"Guest," A voice replied over the COM as Courtney watched the two Fireteams spread out and raise their weapons at the Sentinels that got too close "This is Night One. That's a solid copy. We have a solid visual on the Ballroom along with the Host and his hence -how copy? over."

_Solid copy _"Night One, this is Guest. Solid copy. Out." Courtney replied over the COM as she saw the Elites go away from the group and make their way over to the Monarch who -along with its Sentinels- just arrived at the platform after deciding that it -along with its Sentinels- would travel here by themselves rather than in the Pelican that was already pretty full.

Courtney wasn't stupid; she knew that if the Monitor went rampant and attacked them they would be sitting ducks. That's why she took other precautions then just having Fireteam Night watching over them.

The Monarch had stated that the W/AV M6 G/GNR -or: SPARTAN Laser- was the most effective weapon against a Monitor that the _Kryptonite _had. So Courtney outfitted three of Night's five member team with SPARTAN Lasers to deal with the Monitor if it went aggressive, while the other two team members were equipped with Covenant Pulse Rifles that were collected by Night back on _Atmosus_,and was known to be effective against energy shields, and would prove effective against the Sentinel's shields.

"Welcome, Reclaimers!" 16807 Fleighted Fire cheery said; its blue eye fading and lighting up as it spoke -like it was its mouth.

Courtney watched as Red raised his BR at a Sentinel that was too close and pointed for it to back up; which it did.

_Is he even thinking about what we talked about? _Courtney had meant to speak with Red again after the meeting, but needed some time to herself. And when she was done crying, it would be too conspicuous to ask to speak to him again -Courtney wanted to avoid letting anyone else find out about Red other than those who already knew -ergo: Timmy, the medics that were there when she revealed she was Red's sister, Brian Davis, and Lynda.

Lynda, Davis, and the medics wouldn't be a problem -they wouldn't dare go against her orders, and they were loyal to her to the core. Plus, some of the medics thought that ONI was behind this as-well as Courtney did, and proceeded to show their disapproval.

Timmy was another matter. But Courtney doubted that he would go against her orders -which an A.I is only programmed to do in dire situations- and tell the crew about something that she was planning on doing anyway.

As long as Courtney told the crew the truth within 5 years -Timmy being 2- she should not have to worry about Timmy doing anything hateful towards her. And Courtney planned on telling her crew way before then.

"I am 16807 Fleighted Fire," The Monitor introduced itself, _again_ as they finally stopped in front of its floating orb form "I am the Monitor of Installation 06."

Courtney turned to face the Monarch "Names don't matter, right?" She asked.

"No, Reclaimer." The Monarch confirmed in its metallic voice.

The Monarch told the crew of the _Kryptonite _that telling it or the Monitor their names was irrelevant since they were programmed to refer to all Humans as "Reclaimer/Reclaimers"

The Fleighted Fire turned to the Monarch; as if only now noticing it "Oh, I would have assumed the Ur-Didact would have had assisted Humanity by now. And make your function obsolete."

Courtney turned to face the hovering Monarch _That's right. _From what the Monarch told Courtney and her crew: The Ur-Didact was an _actual _living Forerunner that was locked away on a Forerunner _'__shield world' _called _'Requiem'_. Apparently the Ur-Didact was meant to assist Humanity in ascending into the role as _'guardians of the galaxy' _But obviously had other ideas. Courtney often wondered if the reason the Ur-Didact wasn't helping Humanity was to do with the fact that He was driven mad by the Flood!

Whatever the case: Courtney decided she would try to use this information as a bargaining chip against ONI -if the need arisen.

"The Ur-Didact has not been assisting Humanity; I believe he is still on Requiem," The Monarch replied "You would be surprised the chaos his absent has caused."

_No shit! Just another way the 'all so mighty' Forerunners have fucked up!_

"The Ur-Didact not assisting Humanity -as intended by the Librarian- is a drastic breach of plans, protocol, and is just drastic to full measures _(When the guardians of the galaxy are so close to extinction... then yeah, it's drastic)_" Fleighted Fire observed as it hovered closer to the Monarch "But another current situation requires attention: I did not proceed to make this Installation's Squires assist you in becoming mobile from your Parisadal. Would you be so kind as to explain why there is a possible breach of protocol?"

_This is wasting time _Courtney decided to hold her tongue "A Huragok made me mobile." The Monarch elaborated.

"What?!" Fleighted Fire exclaimed in its high-pitched metallic voice "Having a Huragok in your installation is a breach of the same protocol-"

"The Huragok was here," The Monarch broke in "I was still connected to my Parisadal when I arrived. And long after we arrived, one of my Sentinels discovered the Huragok in a nearby complex."

"There was no Huragok tasked to this Installation," Fleighted Fire stated as it floated away from the Monarch "How did one arrive here?"

"Irrelevant at the moment," The Monarch replied "But I am wondering why you have not contacted me and the Diverted in the large amount of time we have been present on this installation."

Fleighted Fire turned back around to face the Monarch _I would like to hear this as-well _"It was protocol for me to make immediate contact with you," Fleighted Fire began "But the Flood divided my attentions; I could not leave my post; I needed to properly coordinate the Sentinels and close off access hatches to the holding installations within this Installation -a task that only I could achieve. If I followed protocol to the letter... you would all be eliminated at this moment"

"That justifies your failure to contact us." Thel joined in with a few clicks of its now hidden mandibles -it had no helmet when it came aboard the _Kryptonite_. But thankfully, a set of Elite Ultra armor was in the _Kryptonite's _armory - which was collected by Fireteam Night for research and development -getting Covenant equipment was very, very hard. And Courtney was thankful for Night's extreme skill in killing targets without damaging armor.

"No, it does not," The Monarch broke in "Closing off the access hatches within this Installation would not taken any longer than a week."

"I only just began that protocol," Fleighted Fire countered "my previous location within the all-service tunnels _(All service, huh?)_ enabled me unable to access the surface. If you would allow me to elaborate: I was trapped within this Installation's all-service tunnels since: 3 days, five hours, 54 minutes, and 13 seconds -and counting- ago. I have since spent the past time -as designated- enacting on containment protocol."

_We are wasting precious time; every minute is another ten Humans dead! _"We need to leave this ring," Courtney broke in "Can you drop the gravity well?"

"That would be a breach of protocol," Fleighted Fire replied _Of course it fucking is! Nothing is ever easy!_ "But my creators did not design this Installation to be the largest for holding the Flood without producing a fail-safe protocol."

A photon beam shot from Fleighted Fire's eye and landed on the ground; making a few of the Fireteam members raise their weapons, and a holographic replica of Halo appeared on the ground; the group had to move back to make room.

"The Flood holding facilities were built within this Installation's all-service tunnels. This allowed their containment to be easier -if they were ever to break out of their holding facilities," Courtney and the group watched as the holographic replica of Halo melted its exterior to show the holding facilities within its infrastructure "If the Flood were ever to break out of their selective holding facilities, they would have to work their way through many of this Installation's all-service tunnels to reach the surface of this Installation."

Courtney began pacing as Fleighted Fire continued "Given the large amount of time it would take for the Flood to reach the surface of this Installation, I would have the necessary amount of time to enact on the containment protocol, and close of access hatches in the all-service tunnel -effectively trapping the Flood within the ring where they would no doubt die of starvation over time."

"And that is this 'containment protocol'?" Thel clicked its hidden mandibles in question as it crossed its arms across its chest.

"Yes," Fleighted Fire confirmed "Though my proceedings to enact on protocol has been unsuccessful _(You don't say) _Although I have followed protocol every step of the way, a large amount of Flood have escaped to this Installation's surface."

"And that is why you activated the gravity well?" Thel clicked its hidden mandibles in question again.

"Yes." Fleighted Fire confirmed.

"A few more minutes and we would have been gone," Lynda grunted in annoyance "bad fucking timing." _She's right: the amount of inconvenience on this damn ring is mind-blowing -in a bad way!_

"I am sorry for any inconvenience, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire apologized "But I cannot deactivate the gravity well -less I breach protocol."

_Then what is the damn protocol? _"So," Courtney finally said "We can't leave this ring?"

"Oh you can," Fleighted Fire replied "but the containment of the Flood must be enacted on first. Currently, I am unable to act on protocol to my full potential. Allow me to elaborate: I have proceeded to close off access hatches within the all-service tunnels, but I cannot keep up with the rate the Flood are spanning."

"So you cannot close all access hatches before the Flood break out?" Thel clicked its hidden mandibles in question.

"Correct," Fleighted Fire confirmed "But I can increase the rate at which the access hatches for the all-service tunnels are closed with the assistance of the Reclaimers."

_Why us? _"What can _we_ do?" Courtney sternly questioned Fleighted Fire.

"You are the Reclaimers. My Sentinels cannot assist me in closing the access hatches to the all-service tunnels -that is not their function. But there is only one other source other than the Monitor of this Installation -me- that can assist me in my designated protocol -the Reclaimers."

_It wants us to assist in closing the hatches that are quite possibly flooded with... Flood _"You want our help in helping you close the access hatches." Courtney mused -not questioned.

"Correct," Fleighted Fire confirmed "With the assistance of the Reclaimers, we can reduce the containment protocol from approximately 3 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes, and 14 seconds to approximately 1 day, 2 hours, 30 minutes, and 58 seconds."

_That would require me to put my men at risk _"Are the Flood a threat around these access hatches?" Courtney asked in a stern, but worried tone.

"No," Fleighted Fire replied "The Flood are -currently- not present at the designated access hatches." _Thank God._

Courtney watched as the holographic replica of Halo showed the areas her men would need to go -in real time as she could she dozens of Sentinels floating around the areas.

_So what happens after the Flood is contained to the 'all-service' tunnels? _"We close the hatches and then what?" Courtney questioned Fleighted Fire.

"We must than proceed to eliminate all Flood forces located on the surface of this Installation." Fleighted Fire explained.

"The Diverted can assist with this," Thel broke in with everyone turning to face it "Our plasma weapons have proven effective at killing the Flood," Thel turned to face Courtney _W__hat do you want, though? _"If we have your dropships and some of your soldiers assisting us, we can kill the Flood from the air."

"That would prove effective," Fleighted Fire agreed "But, unfortunately, the Flood on the surface of this Installation are only located in one location on the surface of this Installation; and that place cannot be accessed by aerial vehicles. But these Flood are more or less contained with my Sentinels and Enforcers working at this current time to eliminate them. But as for the Flood forces outside the quarantine zone: I believe you can act on your plans, and I will send any un-tasked Sentinels and Enforcers to assist you."

_This may help with the time constraints _"So," Courtney began rubbing her chin "by the time the access hatches are closed -the Flood contained to the ring's lower infrastructure and this 'quarantine zone'- the Flood forces on the surface of Halo will be eliminated as-well."

"The possibility of that is high," Fleighted Fire replied; reassuring Courtney "Once these two steps are enacted on and completed, we can then move to the next part of the containment protocol."

_Please be easy _"And what's that?" Courtney questioned Fleighted Fire.

"I must use the Seer to scan the Reclaimer's ship -as-well as the meddler's ships _(The Covenant, I take it?) _Once I confirmed that the ships are clear of any Flood lifeforms, I will deactivate the gravity well for ten minutes before reactivating it."

_Will that be an easy step? God, I hope so _"How long should scanning the ships with this_ 'Seer' _take. And what damage could it do to our ship?" Courtney asked Fleighted Fire.

"Zero damage, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire replied "the Seer was manufactured without the damage of physical objects in the mind of my creators. As for the designated time: it will take approximately two hours to scan all of the ships."

_Two hours? Fucking hell... that's not long indeed. It's starting to sound like we might make it _"Sounds _damn_ _good_ to me." Courtney had to resist the urge to grin.

"I understand the inconvenience of the mandatory containment protocol, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire began to hover around as if it were pacing "But the alternative was the last resort protocol -if the containment protocol was to fully fail- and I did not wish to ever have to enact on that protocol."

_What protocol? _"What was the alternative?" Courtney questioned Fleighted Fire.

"Activating Halo." Thel answered her.

_Shit _Courtney turned to face Fleighted Fire "Is this true?"

"Yes, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire confirmed "But it was not without its problems. First: a Reclaimer is required to activate this Installation. Second: the Index -which is also required to activate this Installation- is located in the Library which is unfortunately where the Flood on the surface of this Installation are gathering -the quarantine zone I was recently elaborating on, to be more precise."

The holographic replica of Halo zoomed into what Courtney assumed was the 'Library'. And she saw what looked like a giant bug hive covering the landscape and the Library facility itself _Is it coincidental that they are gathering at a place that holds the key to their end? And is the same place they are being contained _

"They know of its purpose," The Monarch concluded "They do not wish us to obtain the Index."

_What about them? _"They can't just take it and hold it somewhere safer?" Courtney asked the Monitor with it turning to face her.

"No, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire replied "They have no reason to; for the Library is currently the most secure facility on this Installation."

"Wait, wait," Thel clicked its hidden mandibles in alarm with everyone turning to face him "If the _bastard Pity_ finds out all that is required to start the _fake Journey_ is a _single Huma_n and the _'sacred Icon'_ then the end of everything could happen very soon."

_Fuck! Its right! _Shock appeared in Courtney's eyes; something she never let happen.

"I can initiate lock-down protocols and procedures around the Control Room," Fleighted Fire began "But the meddler's weapons -which seem to be built off of the weapons of my creators- will be able to break through the lock-down of the Control Room."

_Just as our luck gets better, it fucking goes down hill._

"I doubt the Prophet of Pity will allow damage to come to our _'God's'_ sacred creations... but it is possible the council may let an exception if it means the start of the fake Journey."

"So I guess we're gonna have to keep the Index from falling into the Covenant's hands," Lynda grunted in annoyance and anger "And I suppose we can't even just _bombard_ the fucking Library with the _Kryptonite's _MAC, could we?"_  
_

_I doubt it since Fleighted Fire said that aerial units can't access the quarantine zone _"Can we?" Courtney questioned Fleighted Fire.

"No," Fleighted Fire replied "I am functioned to not allow any damage to come across this Installation _(What?!) _But even if I were not, the Library has a containment shield initiating from the Sentinel wall surrounding the Library -in order to keep the Flood contained to the Library -which has failed due to the Flood utilizing the only way through the Sentinel wall. And the only way to get through the wall and the containment shield is using an anti-gravity gondola to traverse through the wall -this is how Flood forces have been able to leave the quarantine zone."

_So, to keep the key to the end of everything out of the hands of a bunch of religious alien fanatics, we need to go through a hive of thousands of Flood? I know it is mandatory to get the Index... but how many of my men will die doing so? _"I was hoping that no Human's would die on this damn ring _(The exception of Smith who is already dead) _But I understand that we need to get this _'Index'_, So I-"

"Let me engage in this priority one, high risk mission," Red broke in with everyone turning to face him _No! I don't want to lose you without even getting you back! _"My effectiveness on missions is increased when I engage on a mission as a single team. And I will be able to engage and accomplish the mission at a faster rate as a single team."

_I don't want this to be an option! _"All of this Installation's Sentinels and Enforcers that are un-asked will be redirected to assist you, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire added "A single Reclaimer may be simpler for this Installation's Sentinels and Enforcers to assist; and I cannot help but notice this Reclaimer's combat armor that may give him an advantage against the Flood."

_Is Karma so cruel as to take my brother away from me? What the fuck have I ever done for those close to me to be fucked around like this?! It was to be so, so simple; just exit slipspace, get Red and the Covenant separatists, and jump to a random slipspace vector before jumping back to Earth. Why couldn't it be so easy? Now, I found my brother... and now I may lose him again _Courtney didn't respond for the longest of times; she was thinking about her answer. _But who am I to put my personal feelings before Humanity?_

After what seemed like hours, Courtney finally had her answer "It's a plan; if not a _dangerous one._ But I agree with everything you say; Red will go in -with the assistance of the Sentinels and these _'Enforcers'_- get the Index, then get the _hell out_."

_I will grind ONI to dust for this..._

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to this chapter's readers!**

**Sorry if this chapter was a little sort and uneventful. But don't worry! Next chapter will be a down time chapter with Red and Vale's POV before chapter seventeen will deal with Red making his way through the quarantine zone with the Sentinels and Enforcers assisting him.**

**I also apologize for the time it took me to publish this. I have been busy with real life stuff that has slowed down how much I had been working on this chapter. Plus, I had to redo the prologue twice to make it perfect, so that was another 4000 words in the way of me submitting this chapter.**

**Oh, Think of the Library, Sentinel wall, containment shield, and quarantine zone to be similar to Halo 2's (Gives you an idea on the environment)**

**Also: think of the all-service tunnel that the _Kryptonite _is in to be similar to the tunnel the Spirit of Fire had to go through on the level "Cleansing" on _Halo Wars_.  
**

**New Follower alert! Ding Ding Ding! Mumble8, ArmoredFury, ultimate idiot, and goldmonk.  
**

**Like I said at the beginning A/N: you need to leave a single review before I will make you into an OC (So I know people are actually reading this -I don't want to make people who are planning on reading this in two months into OCs) **

**But since ultimate idiot left a review, I know that he is reading this. So, idiot (LOL) please tell me in a review or P.M your character details, or I'll have to make them up myself.**

**Also: a person who has only Favorited this FanFic has also reviewed as-well. Starart132 will be made into an OC if he wishes to be. I ask that he tells me in a P.M or review the details of his character else I'll have to make up the details myself.**

**Something has bothered me... In Halo: Combat Evolved, 343 Guilty Sparks assumes that John knew of Halo's true purpose.  
I don't believe this has ever been explained (Please correct me if I'm wrong) and I decided to make it that 343 and other Monitors assumed that the Ur-Didact would had assisted Humanity -since the Ur-Didact was forcefully put into his Cryptum by the Librarian in order for him to meditate and once he was done meditating, he would proceed to assist Humanity in ascending. But this never happened since the Domain (A Precursor creation) was destroyed when the Halo Arrays fired. And without the Domain, the Ur-Didact spent the next 100, 000 years dwelling on his insanity caused by the Flood -instead of meditating and regaining his sanity.**

**Hope I explained ^^^^ enough. I personally haven't read the _Forerunner Sage _so this info came from Halopedia. Maybe I should read the _Forerunner Sage _sometime... might look into it. But I already know what happens via the Halopedia, and I find Forerunner society very confusing.**

**I always hate it in movies when something illogical happens just so an explanation can happen. I hope this isn't what I've been doing here -since I have devoted entire chapters to explanation. But I'm really not an advanced story-teller, and if I may be considered worst than Hollywood when it comes to explanation, I'm sorry. But I doubt any of this means anything since I discovered that this site mainly consists of the nicer people of a fanbase -not ranting idiots on forums.**

**Please leave a review telling me what you think (I very much appreciate it when people do so) Also tell me in a P.M or review about any typos or lore mistakes I may had made, and I will immediately correct them while also crediting you in the next chapter!  
**

**********************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, xX****Life'sAPopsicleXx, gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7, goldmonk, ArmoredFury, Mumble8, ultimate idiot.**


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Build Up

**[ CHAPTER SIXTEEN: BUILD UP ]**

* * *

_The sun was setting over Sarasee Keep as I stood on the balcony; watching it set and dwelling on my recent actions._

_I still could not come around the fact that I was the only one to know of the Kaidon's dishonor, and how I was the only one who acted on it -and survived._

_I was not even an Elder; yet, I took this Lineages politics into my own hands -and in return, I not only survived, but also obtained the trust of the Elders._

_"He may had been your father." I heard the familiar clicks of Yue 'Sarasee's mandibles, and I cocked my head around to see him walk to my side where he to watched the sun set._

_Of course, I was taken aback by his comment "Please do not bring up the horrors of the reality," I clicked my mandibles in disgust "I will not allow my mind to be clouded with the idea of that bastard being the one who gave me life."_

_Yue let out a chuckle through his grinned mandibles "Who would you desire to be your father?"_

_That took me by surprise: he knew that it was him I wished to be my father. Yet, he wished me to say it. I decided that -due to his bluntness- I would toy with him "A Sangheili father? Please, I am but too almighty to had have had been created by a mere mortal Sangheili."_

_Yue parted his mandibles and let out a laugh "Your avoidance of a mere question is legendary! Be sure to use this strategy when you become Kaidon; and make no mistake, you will be Kaidon."_

_I highly disagreed with him "No, brother," I replied "I will always answer a question... no matter what it beholds."_

_Yue began rubbing his mandibles at what I said "That will make you an even greater leader and politician; a stronger one that will never withhold secrets."_

_I formed my mandibles into a grin over what he said. I could not withhold my excitement to be considered a potential great leader._

_And how a leader I turned out to be..._

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[1712 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

******Fleet-Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee's Quarters,** The ******Base Of Forerunner Portal, Installation 06.**

**Vale Nar 'Sarasee...**

* * *

"Fleet-Master, We have found him." Vale suddenly heard General Trerx 'Huldamee say over his console and immediately tuned back into the world and began bringing up his communications with the search parties.

_He is dead, I know it; there is no use for denial in my mind _"Is he dead, brother?" Vale clicked his mandibles in question over his console "Where did you find him?"

"We found him but a two unit walk to the east of the Forerunner tower the Heretics were hold up in, Fleet-Master. _We_... we could only identify him by the Zealot grade armor that was next to his... _bones_ -the flesh eaten clean off of them; he was not consumed by a creature of this sacred ring _(Jiralhanae)_"_  
_

"Bring him home, brother," Vale told Trerx "I mean to have words with the holy Prophet of Pity."

"Understood, Fleet-Master." Trerx replied as Vale docked his floating command chair and made his way out of his quarters.

He had yet to receive word back from the high Prophet of Truth on whether he could forcefully detain the Prophet of Pity. But this revelation meant that Vale could at least legally force the Prophet of Pity to speak with him.

Vale was glad that Trerx's skill in field operations found Var's body so soon. Vale was, at first, reluctant to shift Yexyn from leading the search for Var to pursuing the Humans and Heretics. But Vale now regretted not making Trerx the leader of the search sooner; for as much as Vale believed Yexyn to be a perfect leader, he was, however, not very good when it came to searching for_ something._

Vale dusted of some dirt on his ceremonial robe -it was heresy to wear normal robes in the presence of a Prophet for some damn reason- and exited his quarters.

_What am I beholding? Of course, how could I even ask myself that _The first thing Vale noticed when he exited his quarters was at least a hundred Sangheili in the yard in-front of his portable quarters; crouching in respect and mourning _Of course t__hey already know._

Vale began making his way down the ramp that led from his quarters down to the yard; placing a reassuring hand on the shoulders of each Sangheili in his path.

"News travels fast." Vale remarked as he placed his hand on the shoulders of a Sangheili Major by the name of Tev 'Vudalnee.

"General Trerx made the wise decision on informing us first so we could act in this way of honor for Var -and for you, brother." A Sangheili Ultra by the name of Frnai 'Caluxee informed Vale.

_A wise choice _Vale nodded his head in agreement before cocking it up at the sight of Careekius making his way through the crowd to Vale with Var's cloak calmly folded in his hands _He honors me by doing this._

Careekius wore different armor then Literus did. His armor was not pitch black all over like Literus's armor. And was instead red with glowing blue engravings and patterns along it. He did not wear a helmet, nor did he have any belts of trophies he had gathered. His armor was also nicely clean -unlike Literus's which was dirty and rusty. Along Careekius's back was his gravity hammer which was very default for a gravity hammer; having no trophy belts along it and no personal engravings -unlike Literus's whose gravity hammer looked like an honor podium instead of a weapon.

"Brother, I have my most loyal warriors out looking for those responsible for this _blight_; they will be found, and they will be _swiftly _executed," Careekius assured Vale as he stopped in front of him and handed him Var's cloak "I should had returned this sooner; but it was... _so soft_."

_You touch me with your respect _"Thank you," Vale nodded his head in respect "I must now make heed to have words with the holy Prophet of Pity."

"He knows of this atrocity and of your haste to see him," Careekius informed Vale "I do not know why the holy Prophet of Pity attempted to avoid you for such a large amount of time... but he no longer plans to do so; he told me this himself."

_I was not going to let him avoid me anymore, anyway _Vale nodded in respect at Careekius again before continuing to the Prophet's quarters.

_I do not like the high chances of him being behind this... he has motive... and if he did have Var killed, I will have his entrails scattered around High Charity before this segment is up..._

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[1716 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Armory, Installation 06.****  
**

**Courtney Jsarez...**

* * *

"What's _that?_" Courtney asked Fleighted Fire at the sight of the most advance set of armor she had ever seen _Please tell me this is this 'class twelve' armor it was talking about._

Fleighted Fire decided that its "protocol" now allowed it to enter the _Kryptonite_. But before it did, it decided to go to Halo's armory and get some Forerunner weapons, equipment, and a single set of "class twelve" armor to use against the Flood -with the assistance of five of the _Kryptonite's _Pelicans. And it and the Pelicans eventually returned with enough Forerunner weapons and equipment to outfit the entire crew of the _Kryptonite_.

"A class twelve combat skin," Fleighted Fire confirmed Courtney's suspicions as Red and doctor Hallas Day began inspecting the armor "Your combat skin is but an un-shielded primitive class two version, and that will not be effective against the Flood -as I had designated earlier on out first meeting, Reclaimer."

Courtney inspected the armor: it was pure white with small floating objects coming from the armor's back and shoulders. There was also blue holographic symbols hovering from the armor's shoulders and chest. There was also blue engravings coming from between the gaps in the armor. The armor itself was heavily -but neatly- plated, but Courtney didn't believe the armor to be all that heavy. The armor was also very smooth and curved with not a single sharp shape on the armor. The gauntlets of the armor curved backwards as-well with the armor having its elbow guards coming right up to the shoulders and almost looked like they were to serve as shields. The helmet also seemed very _alien _with a curved and round spike coming from both sides of the jaw, and the visor being small and thin and located in the middle of the helmet to give the armor a cyclops look. But though it looked all _fine _and _dandy_,Courtney couldn't _actually _see anyway to get into the armor

Courtney smiled as she watched Red . It reminded her of when he was 5 and he used to examine their father's creations -their father used to build small animal enclosures and the works to sell at the city _He still seems like such a child._

"This class twelve combat skin is capable of shifting to fit any size -and any species -if protocol designated it," Courtney turned to watch Fleighted Fire as it explained the armor "The armor is also fitted with a Z-90 Photonic Coalescence Emitter which will protect the combat skin in a hardlight shield from damage until a hostile brings the hardlight shield down. And when the hardlight shield is down, the designated Reclaimer will have to protect themselves for 4.7 seconds until the hardlight shield recharges -which will take 2.6 seconds. I am also happy to announce that Sentinels are functioned to assist in reinforcing the armor's hardlight shields."

_How does he get into the armor in the first place? _"How does he even _get in_?" Courtney questioned Fleighted Fire.

Fleighted Fire turned to face Courtney "It is quite simple, Reclaimer, the gravity field around the combat skin allows the combat skin to pull itself apart before building itself around the designated Reclaimer."

_How?_ "How does he make it _'fall apart'_?" Courtney narrowed her eyes at the hovering Monitor.

"The designated Reclaimer can do it as they desire once the armor is connected up to their brain via a specialized mental interface," Fleighted Fire began to explained _Does it mean a neural interface? This could be a problem_ "But when a Reclaimer is to use a combat skin for the fist time, a Reclaimer will need the assistant of a designated Forerunner mobile Ancilla to assist them. Thankfully, that is one of my many functions. When the designated Reclaimer so does choose so, I will pull the combat skin apart before making it build around the designated Reclaimer's body. Once this step in the protocol is completed, the Reclaimer can equip or remove the combat skin as they so desire -since they are connected to the combat skin via the mental interface."

_What is this mental interface? Does it mean a neural interface _"How does this _'mental interface' _work?" Courtney questioned Fleighted Fire.

"Well," Fleighted Fire began "we must first remove the designated Reclaimer's current mental interface-"

_That won't be an option _"We can't do that," Courtney broke in as Red turned around to face the Monitor himself, he clearly didn't want to have his SPARTAN neural interface removed "The neural interface in Red- _(Shit) __Sierra-098's_ skull is essential to Sierra-098's combat efficiency; not to mention it is required for him to wear his current armor."

"Fear not, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire began "The designated Reclaimer's current combat skin will be irrelevant once the designated Reclaimer has this combat skin. As for the designated Reclaimer's current mental interface's properties: I can have the Huragok on this ship -designated 'Lighter Than Some'- transfer that mental interface's properties to this combat skins mental interface -effectively adding the two properties together."

_That may work... but ONI will still have my ass. But then again... I don't give a fuck about ONI anymore -Humanity is all that matters _"Will this be safe?" Courtney questioned Fleighted Fire.

"I am 100 percent positive that the operation to change -and update- the designated Reclaimer's mental interface will work." Fleighted Fire reassured her.

_You better fucking have gotten those facts right _"This better work." Courtney sternly warned Fleighted Fire before noticing that Red didn't seem fazed over Courtney's decision _Does he even care about having a potentially life threatening operation? Does he even want to protest?_

Suddenly the doors to the armory hissed open and Courtney, Fleighted Fire, Gunnery Sergeant David Bishop -who was busy checking out the Forerunner weapons-, doctor Hallas Day, and Red turned to see the non wounded members of the Diverted enter the armory.

Thel turned to Courtney and let out a distasteful snort through its hidden mandibles _(Well fuck you to) _before going with its soldiers to equip themselves with Forerunner weapons -for when they soon go hunting after the Flood outside the quarantine zone.

"Reclaimer," Courtney heard Fleighted Fire call her and quickly turned back around to face it "Due to the time it will take to properly equip the designated Reclaimer with the combat skin -it will take approximately 2 hours, 9 minutes, and 18 seconds- I highly recommend that only this Reclaimer should be equipped with the class twelve combat skin at this time -at least until the need for more Reclaimers to be equipped with the class twelve combat skin arises."

_Just how many of these armor sets are there? _"How many more armor sets like this are there?" Courtney questioned Fleighted Fire as she watched a Forerunner weapon assemble in the hands of one of the Elites.

"I believe you wish to avoid specifics, so I will count the combat skins as a whole: 590. There is 590 combat skins of all classes on this Installation."

_Holy FUCK! _"I can equip every soldier on this ship -and more- with those numbers." Courtney stated to herself.

"Yes, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire agreed "But the time to follow the necessary protocols will take too long. I recommend that only the designated Reclaimer be equipped with this armor at the current time."

_Can you still bring the armor aboard? Another bargaining chip against ONI is all I need _"Can you get the rest of the armor aboard -just in-case?" Courtney asked Fleighted Fire.

"The time required for such a procedure is too great to properly calculate," Fleighted Fire stated "Such a procedure may be enacted on if the need arises, or the containment protocol enacted on and completed first."

_I suppose it doesn't really matter if we have one suit. And if ONI gives me what I want... then I'll give them the location of this shit-hole, and they can deal with this damn Monitor themselves._

"Ma'am," Timmy's avatar appeared on a nearby holo-tank before Courtney could speak again "I don't mean to interrupt, but I don't like what the Huragok is doing to some of the _Kryptonite's _systems."

_Note to self: Artificial Intelligence and Forerunner organic supercomputers don't get along well _"Is the Monarch supervising it?" Courtney asked Timmy in an annoyed and frustrated tone.

"Yes, ma'am." Timmy said, he was obviously aware that he annoyed Courtney.

"Then _we don't need to worry_ about the Huragok _fucking anything up_." Courtney rolled her eyes.

"ONI won't like this." Timmy muttered as his avatar disappeared _Ironic; I didn't like the fact that ONI KIDNAPPED MY SIX YEAR OLD BROTHER _Courtney had to refrain from hitting the nearby wall._  
_

"Is what we hear from the Monarch correct?" Thel suddenly clicked its hidden mandibles in question with everyone turning to face it "Can that armor be worn by any species advanced enough to use armor for combat?"

"Yes," Fleighted Fire confirmed "It is-"

"That is a bad thing," Thel interrupted Fleighted Fire "If it were just Humans that could use the armor... _(I see where you're going with this) _we may have had visual leverage that the Humans _are the __Reclaimers_." _A lost potential... I don't even know what to think of this...__  
_

"Don't touch that!" Courtney heard Gunnery Sergeant Bishop yelled with everyone turning around to see that the Jackal named Kri was pulling some weapons apart.

The Jackal let out a hiss at Bishop and Courtney just let out a sigh of annoyance as she turned back around to face the armor. And she saw that Red was still inspecting the armor.

_I suppose we shouldn't waste anymore time _"R- _(Damn it) Sierra_," Red turned to face her "You ready?"

"Affirmative, ma'am." He nodded.

Courtney wanted to go and hug him, she didn't want to lose him again. She wanted to hold him and say how much she missed him... how much she loved him _He'd likely kill me if I touch him without his consent _Courtney couldn't hide the sadness and worry that appeared in her eyes. And Day must have seen the worry in her eyes "Don't worry, ma'am," He made a reassuring smile "I'll make sure nothing goes wrong."

_Of course you will! ONI won't want anything bad to happen to their 'precious SPARTANs'... _Courtney simply nodded at Day with him smiling at her again before waving for Red and Fleighted Fire to follow him.

Anger and frustration was boiling up inside her as Red, Fleighted Fire, and Day left the armory. And once they were gone, she slammed her fist into the nearby wall.

"Captain?!" Bishop asked in a worried and confused tone as he rushed over to her aid "You okay, ma'am?" He took her hand and began to inspect it for damage.

_No, I'm not. Everything is shit! _Courtney noticed her hands were twitching uncontrollably "Why did you do that?" Courtney heard Thel click its hidden mandibles in question at her.

_Because you're right _Courtney let out a sigh "...Because Humanity is as fucked up as you believe it is..."

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[1719 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**************Prophet Of Pity's Quarters, The Base Of Forerunner Portal, Installation 06.**

**Vale Nar 'Sarasee...**

* * *

The doors to the Prophet of Pity's quarters hissed open and Vale entered the portable building to find that the Prophet of Pity had his gravity throne facing away from the entrance.

Vale narrowed his eyes at the sight but suddenly the gravity throne slowly began to turn around to show the Prophet of Pity was calmly patting a furry creature from Eayn that was in his lap "I -the holy Prophet of Pity- have been expecting you, oh so worthy Fleet-Master." The Prophet of Pity smiled.

_This somehow seems very... cliché... _Vale pushed the thought aside and approached the Prophet of Pity before kneeling in respect "Holy Prophet of Pity, I must speak to you of the fate of Zealot Var 'Lultamee."

"Yes..." The Prophet of Pity sighed "I -the holy Prophet of Pity- was in great sorrow when the news reach my -the holy Prophet of Pity's- noble attention _(I doubt that) _It is even more devastating when I -the holy and most noble Prophet of Pity- had not yet placed him back on the Great Journey."

_What?! _Vale suddenly jumped up and startled the Honor Guards, making them raise their lances at him "What do you mean?" Vale clicked his mandibles in question at the Prophet of Pity.

"I -the holy Prophet of Pity- removed him from the holy path -remember?," The Prophet of Pity began rubbing his wobbles "But I -the holy Prophet of Pity- had yet to relinquish his removal from the Great Journey; he will not see paradise... but only embrace the Eternal Darkness for all eternity."

_You wanted this to happen; you made this happen _"You had him killed." Vale realized.

"_HERESY!_" The Prophet screamed in rage "_YOU DARE ACCUSE ME -THE HOLY PROPHET OF PITY- OF SUCH AN ACT?_"

_I do accuse you _"Yes." Vale calmly clicked his mandibles in confirmation.

The Prophet of Pity let out a scream of rage before bringing his gravity throne forward at haste and landing a smack across Vale's face -which did not hurt him in the slightest "_Your insolence has no bounds. And I -_the holy and most noble Prophet of Pity- _has had enough of your persistent defiance!_"

_I will have you executed for this _"I have already sent a message to the holy Prophet of Truth with haste," Vale calmly informed the Prophet of Pity with a few clicks of his mandibles "I asked him for legal permission to retain you if the evidence concludes that you used your power illegally to have Zealot Var killed and his removal from the Great Journey -and the evidence is against you. I know his reply will be in my favor; and once he gives me his holy consent to retain you, I will take you before the council and have you executed for illegal use of your political power."

"_YOU DARE BE SO BLUNT?!_" The Prophet of Pity screamed in rage "_GUARDS! SEIZE HIM!_"

_They won't _Vale snaked his head around to see that the Honor Guards stood firmly still "_SEIZE HIM!_" The Prophet of Pity screamed again _This is a farce worthy of the ages._

Vale shook his head in annoyance before making his way out of the Prophet's quarters with the Prophet of Pity screaming in rage as he left...

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[1934 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Mess-Hall, Installation 06.****  
**

**Red-098...**

* * *

098's head was ringing.

But he felt _strangely _stronger, 098 felt like he was no longer in the boundaries of his physical limitations. His eye sight also felt stronger with him being able to focus better on the distance. 098 guessed these things came from the Forerunner neural interface -the Monitor didn't mention the biological augments the neural interface caused.

098 rubbed his eyes to make his fuzzy vision go away before looking down at his food; potato spuds covered in unique spices and salts from Reach -that he had always loved as a kid-, three strips of turkey covered in breadcrumbs and spices as-well as salt, and lastly, there was the gravy that covered it all.

098 only ever ate big meals before important missions. Of course, then he would have to do the annoying task of taking a gut pill to make sure his bowels were clear for the mission. Any excess waste his body needed to get rid of would be handled by his armor's waste disposal unit -that apparently the Forerunner armor had as-well.

098 cut a spud in half before picking the smaller half up with his fork and putting hit in his mouth.

The taste of gravy, spices, and the potato itself sent his taste-buds into a dance; 098 almost smiled at the flavors.

"Move it." 098 heard a gruff voice say and he looked up to see a large Marine with a ODST insignia on his fatigues, and the insignia of a Staff Sergeant.

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 complied as he grabbed his plate of food and began moving over to another table, but before he could reach it, another ODST bumped into him -another Staff Sergeant- and used his fork to fetch a strip of 098's turkey off of his plate and place it on his already full plate before snickering at 098 and going over to join his comrade on the table 098 was recently seated at.

098 simply ignored the ODSTs and made his way over to another table.

"Sierra!" 098 heard a familiar voice called and turned to see Woods waving him over with a few more ODSTs sitting around the table.

098 nodded and made his way over to the table as he heard one of the ODSTs that hijacked his table yell "Freak" at him.

"Fuckers," Woods muttered as 098 took a seat next to him "They're a disgrace to this." Woods began pointing at his ODST insignia.

098 turned to his right when he noticed that the person sitting to his right was placing a piece of turkey on his plate "Thank you..." 098 looked at his shirt and saw that he wore he insignia of a First Sergeant "...sir."

The ODST First Sergeant did a single nod before going back to his food.

"Always the chivalry one, Freud." Another ODST sitting across from Woods laughed.

The ODST First Sergeant named Freud let out a grunt as he place a piece of cut up turkey into his mouth.

"Oh, yeah," Woods suddenly said as 098 put a potato spud into his mouth "You don't know these guys, do you?"

098 wiped some gravy off of his chin before turning to face Woods _Negative _"Negative, sir." 098 confirmed with a nod.

"Well, sitting next to you is Albert Freud." Woods said with 098 turning to face the ODST. Freud was quite short and pale, and had short black hair and a thin stubble -098 also noticed that he had some grey spots in his hair -which was odd since Freud looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. His face was very average for a person of his age -098 guessed that he had plenty of girlfriends in his lifetime, and maybe even a wife- and he also had a scar under his right eye -which 098 couldn't figure out the origins behind. Freud wore basic Marine fatigues but 098 noticed that he had the collar around his neck undone so a Christian cross could be seen -098 guessed he did this so he could have easy access to it without him needing to dig into his shirt to pull it out.

Freud turned to look at 098 and nodded once before turning back around to focus on his food _Verbal topics irrelevant for ODST First Sergeant -designated Albert Freud._

"That over there is Tom McAllister -but me and my boys call him Wolf." Woods gestured to the ODST sitting across from Freud. The ODST had the insignia of a Staff Sergeant, and looked similar to Freud in facial structure and age, but had a darker skin tone and had short brown hair shaved into a mohawk. His face was cleanly shaven but 098 guessed that was so the small tattoos of M7 SMGs on either side of his jaw could be seen. He also had a scar coming away from the corner of his left eye which went up over his forehead. The scar also seemed to pull the upper lid of his eyelid back a bit -098 guessed the scar was caused by a Jackal claw.

"Sup?" McAllister smiled in a friendly way at 098.

098 did a nod in respect as Tom returned the favor.

"That ugly bastard over there is Toless Morgan -but his squad refer to his as Night's Anger." Woods gestured to the ODST sitting across from Woods. 098 saw that Morgan had the insignia of a Second Lieutenant. His face was pretty average for a man of his mid-thirties -which is the age 098 guessed he was- but his nose was crooked which 098 guessed happened when an Elite smashed its fist into his face -there was also scaring along the nose which further strengthened that theory. His hair was cleanly shaven off, but he had a short cut brown goatee around his mouth -098 also thought he saw a scar around his mouth. 098 could also see no visible tattoos on his face, but he did have a list of numbers going around his right eye that 098 couldn't figure out the origins to.

"Sierra." Morgan nodded.

"Lieutenant." 098 saluted after seeing the insignia.

"No need for formalities in the mess," Morgan waved 098 to be at ease "Just call me Morgan."

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 nodded as another ODST with the insignia of a First Lieutenant on his shirt came over and took a seat next to Morgan.

"That there is Rick Cylus -his comrades call him Night's Wing." Woods gestured to the newly seated ODST. Cylus had a strong, handsome face, and 098 couldn't imagine that he wasn't married. He had finely trimmed hair and a thin rough beard covering his jawline. He had a thin mouth and sharp eyes and 098 noticed that one of his eyes was cybernetic. His face was full of scars, but the worse was a scar going across his jawline that had burn scars coming away from it; an energy sword was 098's first and only guess. Unlike the rest of the ODSTs, Cylus wore a singlet instead of a T-shirt, and 098 could see dozens of standard Marine and ODST tattoos covering his arms. 098 also noticed that he wore a black finger-less leather glove on his left hand which 098 guessed was for more than just petty appearance.

"Pleasure to meet you, SPARTAN," Cylus happily stated as he tossed 098 a can of soda "Shit's good."

_Affirmative. _"Affirmative," 098 nodded "Thank you."

"Morgan and Cylus are from Fireteam Night -the lead Fireteam aboard the _Kryptonite_. But McAllister and Freud are from my Fireteam."

_"My Fireteam" Requires elaboration _"Elaborate the term: 'My Fireteam'." 098 said as he opened up the can of soda.

"Oh, that's right," Woods let out a nervous chuckle in his Slavic accent "I was promoted to Sergeant Major after the mission back on _Quaint_," Woods let out a sigh "Something I don't _really_ deserve."

_Elaborate required _"Elaboration required." 098 told Woods.

"_Really_?" Woods questioned 098 in a puzzled tone _Affirmative _"I _got__ them_ _killed_! I agreed one hundred percent with Captain Royce that you SPARTANs were _psychos_ over what happened on the _fucking Atlas_, and I proceeded to be a pain in the arse during the _entire mission_... There's no denying the simple fact that my damn yelling and stupidity got Vintage killed... and almost got _you_ killed..."

098 noticed that Woods was now staring plainly into his food, not doing anything but breathing heavily _Possibility of PTSD: certain. Possibility of survivor guilt: certain._

"You're right," Freud suddenly said "Your comrades died because of you," Woods looked up and began facing Freud, obviously taken aback by what he said "But you fail to see that -although unintentionally- your 'stupidity' and 'foolishness' has possibly saved Humanity."

_Affirmative. _Woods narrowed his eyes at Freud who was putting some turkey into his mouth, not even noticing everyone's eyes on him "But like you said 'unintentionally'..." Woods reminded Freud, 098 noticed tears were forming in Wood's eyes "ODSTs... _are not the best of the fucking best_; you didn't see any of us taking that Elite down... we were simply... _back there_... shooting at it while you willingly took the Elite out in a way that would kill you _as-well_, _without hesitation_... I'm sorry... _Sierra_." tears were now flooding out of Wood's eyes and McAllister hurried over to comfort his comrade._  
_

_Irrelevant. Mission accomplished. Team status irrelevant _"And don't say that '_the past is irrelevant'_," Woods told 098 "They matter _to me_!."

"_Fucking crying pussy!_" 098 heard the ODST that told him to move earlier yell out to them from his table "Call yourself _ODSTs_? _ODSTs don't cry like little bitches!_"

Freud slammed his fist down onto the table before getting up and slowly making his way over to the other ODST's table.

"Shit," McAllister calmly said as he from comforting Woods "he forgets certain things that are vital for his survival sometimes." McAllister than began to hurry after Freud as 098 and Woods turned to see what was happening.

098 watched as Freud slammed his fist into the face of the ODST that told 098 to move as he tried to get out of his seat "Damn." Woods sniffed as he began to wipe his eyes with his arm.

McAllister grabbed the ODST that stole 098's turkey before he could ambush Freud and bought his face down to his knee.

_Possibility of eventual intervention of physical combat: certain _098 continued to wait as a group of people gather around the fighting ODSTs; some pushed their way through the crowd and began to attack McAllister and Freud while others tried to break the fight up.

Freud pushed a Marine that was trying to break the fight up out-of-the-way as he began to slam the ODST that told 098 to move's face down onto the table before spinning the ODST around and began choking the him.

_Immediate intervention required_. 098 hurried out of his seat and ran over to Freud where he pushed Freud off of the struggling ODST and held him against the wall.

"Let... _me_..." Freud struggled to release himself from 098's grip.

_Stand down _"Stand down, sir." 098 told Freud.

"_Fuck_," The ODST that Freud was choking coughed as he got up "Move, freak," The ODST tried to grab Freud through 098's grip "_he's mine_."

098 turned to face the ODST _Stand down _"Stand down, sir." 098 told the ODST.

"I'm ordering you to _LET ME FUCK HIS FACE UP!_" The ODST roared in 098's face.

_Order refusal allowed, and is mandatory _"Order refusal allowed," 098 replied as he lightly pushed the ODST away "Stand down."

098 watched as a CO came over and pulled three ODSTs off of McAllister before he began yelling at them; the crowd also began to break up.

"I said_ MOVE!_" The ODST yelled as he landed a punch on 098's face.

_Physical contact -engage _098 quickly released Freud and swung his arm around and slammed it into the ODST's face, sending him flying back as blood and teeth splattered from his mouth; he landed on the hard floor with a crack.

_Possibility of unintentional elimination: high _The ODSTs squad-mates, a few COs, and some other crew members in the mess ran over to the ODST. 098 simply moved out-of-the-way with McAllister and Freud rallying on him as Morgan, Cylus, and Woods came running into the crowd of people who had just formed a circle around the area.

"I think you killed him." McAllister observed with a chuckle that had no amusement in it -it was just there.

098 watched as a CO checked the ODST's vitals with Cylus, Morgan, and Woods making their way through the crowd and over to 098, McAllister, and Freud's position.

"He's alive," A CO announced as he waved for another CO to go and get the medics "He's skull is cracked though. So _nice going Sierra._"

Freud was about to walk towards the CO when Morgan stopped him by grabbing his shoulder "I know who is worth harming your precious knuckles over," Morgan stated to Freud as he looked him in the eyes "And these _fucking cunts_ aren't worth _shit_ -fools that the Covenant decided not to kill."

"The Covenant decided to kill the good guys instead." Cylus said without emotion -and seemingly to no-one.

098 raised his head from the unconscious ODST to one of the entrances to the mess as he spotted the Captain along with some other COs make their way into the mess; the Captain was clutching the side of her cheek -the same side 098 was hit in "What happened?" She asked as she and the other COs came to a stop around the unconscious marine.

"Sierra _pretty much_ put this ODST out of service." One of the COs explained.

_Allow me to elaborate _"Allow me to elaborate-"

"Nobody asked you to elaborate," The CO that was bent over the ODST's unconscious body interrupted 098 "Just go back to standing there like the machine you and your kind are."

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 complied and was taken aback when he witnessed the Captain lift her leg up and kick the CO in the face.

"Shut your fucking cunt sucker!" The Captain snapped at the CO.

098 thought he heard the Captain continue to yell at the CO... but he tuned out all of a sudden... something was wrong.

_LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE!_ 098 began rubbing his head as McAllister looked at him with a worried look on his face _I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU TOUCH MY SISTER, YOU BULLY!_

098 began rubbing his head harder as the rest of the ODSTs near him began looking at him with confused and puzzled looks on their faces _I'll always protect you... _

"That's not right..." 098 mused as he began hitting his head with the palm of his hand, everyone began looking at him "...That's not... right..."

"Are you okay?" Cylus asked him in a worried tone.

_Are you okay, Nai? Don't worry, I won't let him hurt you again; he's just a big bully._

Just like in the medical bay, something 098 buried a long time ago momentarily dug itself back into his mind. And for a moment, 098 had a thought he buried a long time ago...

_I'm going to kill her..._

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** Thanks are handed out to all those who have read this far; this really is the PONR for some people, and I appreciate that there are people out there who took the time to read this, and found out that they like it (Or they're just reading to see a OC based after them -lol)**

**New Follower alert! Ding! Ding! Ding! SpeedyNaomi, and Hunter092.**

**I ask that these two people leave a single review before I make OCs based after them.**

**ArmoredFury left a review, so I will make an OC based on him. I ask that he tells me in a P.M or review the details of his OC or if he doesn't want to even be featured as an OC.**

**Tom (Wolf) McAllister is based after Curiouswolf. And Albert Freud is based after Starart132.**

**I apologize if your characters haven't seen much light yet. But don't worry! I will eventually have an arc for each OC which will explain their personalities and back-stories. If anyone has any requests for their OC's back-stories or personalities, I ask that they tell me in a P.M or review.**

**As usual: please tell me of any typos of lore mistakes I might have made in a P.M or review.**

**************************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, xX****Life'sAPopsicleXx, gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7, goldmonk, ArmoredFury, Mumble8, ultimate idiot, SpeedyNaomi, Hunter092.**


	18. Chapter Seventeen: The Library

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Something has come to my attention. I've noticed that if I die, you guys ain't gonna know. So I have concluded an idea to get around this obstacle.

I doubt that I will be idle from this site for more than a month without saying so. And trust me, I'm never away from the intermanetz for more than a month. So, if you don't see an update for this FanFic (Or any future FanFics) within a month, assume I was hit by a car and died or something like that.

Speaking of death: the most messed up thing happened while I was typing up this A/N. I was beginning to type this up when my old man said that Robin Williams committed suicide.

I grew up watching jumanji as a kid (Even though it scared the shit out of me) and Flubber. And Robin has always been one of my favorite comedians. It's a crappy feeling when you find out that someone you loved from your childhood is dead. It's an even crappier feeling when you still loved that someone.

**[ CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE LIBRARY ]**

* * *

_Death and chaos was everywhere to be seen._

_Hundreds of civilians were running up the large metropolis street surrounded by skyscrapers as dozens of Covenant vehicle, air, and ground forces marched up the street, killing any Human in their path._

_I ran past the fleeing civilians and took cover behind some debris as the Elite Major and its squad I was shooting at began to close in on me._

_I took a breath and leaned out of cover, raised my gun, and fired with o__ne three round burst from the BR55 BR -I took from a dead Marine earlier- which finished the Elite Major off with the Grunts around it beginning to enter a panic._

_I quickly cut down the fleeing Grunts with my BR as two friendly SPARTANs appeared on my motion sensor._

_Red didn't even bother taking cover, and instead leaped over the debris I was behind and charge towards a wrecked car that a Jackal was hiding behind._

_"You never leave any for me." Jorge huffed in annoyance as he joined me behind cover._

_I smiled behind my helmet as I leaned out of cover and took out a Jackal in an advancing Covenant lance "Maybe if you weren't so slow," I said as I took a Grunt Ultra next to the Jackal I just killed out "you might actually get to kill something."_

_Red took cover behind the wrecked car that the -now dead- Jackal was originally behind, and began opening fire at the advancing Covenant._

_A fleeing civilian tripped next to our cover and I quickly helped him up._

_"Thank you." He said as he hurried towards the advancing UNSC forces._

_"Shit's about to go down." I remarked as I saw the large UNSC convoy close in on our position with Scorpions beginning to shoot at Covenant aerial forces in the distance._

_I quickly turned back around and began covering civilians who were still fleeing from the approaching Covenant lines._

_One civilian teenager wasn't so lucky as to have been covered by me, and a Jackal Major leaped on him before using its claws to slit his throat._

_"Damn it." I muttered as I shifted my fire and killed the Jackal as what I assume was the mother of the teenager slumped down next to the teenager's body and began crying._

_I tried to cover the women against advancing Grunts, but I the women wouldn't move, and an advancing Elite Major -whose shields I couldn't bring down in time- raised its plasma rifle to the crying women's head, and fired, spilling red blood and brain over the dirt road as the women's head began to melt from the plasma._

_Red began firing at the Elite Major as-well, and with his help, I managed to bring the Major's shields down before a three round burst from Red's BR split the Major's head and helmet open with purple blood spraying over the road._

_As I shifted my fire to the now fleeing Grunts of the Major's lance, I noticed on my HUD that three SPARTANs were approaching from behind us._

_I took down two Grunt Minors as Charlie-Green Team -consisting of Carris-137, Naomi-010, and Joseph-122- took cover near us, further strengthening our defensive perimeter against the Covenant until the approaching UNSC convoy reached us._

_"Linda and the rest of Green Team are back with the convoy," Joseph reported as I assisted him in taking down an Elite Minor "Linda's already in a sniping position and should begin-"_

_A shot rang out and an Elite Ultra lost its head with the Grunts of its lance entering a panic._

_I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that with backup we might be able to get all the civilians that were still fleeing to safety. My hopes, however, were smashed when I saw a Jackal Minor rip a newborn baby from a mother's arms, held the screaming and crying baby by its legs, and bought the baby closer to its mouth before biting the baby's head off as the mother screamed in horror._

_I let out a grunt of annoyance as I took the Jackal out with a mist of purple blood appearing where its head once was. I then began covering the crying mother as she ignored the body of her baby, and ran as fast as she could for the safety of our defensive perimeter. But she couldn't run fast enough, and a plasma round from an Elite Ultra's plasma repeater slammed into the back of her head, melting off half of her head as she fell to the ground -dead._

_I shifted my fire from covering the dead mother and assisted in taking down a Covenant lance; I suddenly noticed that my motion sensor was covered in yellow dots. _

_The sounds of vehicles and Marines shouting orders to their squads filled my ears as the rest of Green Team and a large amount of Marines took cover near us, and began cutting down the advancing Covenant forces._

_With the extra guns, the Covenant began to fall by the numbers as bullets upon bullets hit them head on, and the Scorpions and Warthogs began firing into the lines as-well once all the civilians were safe._

_I smiled behind my helmet as the Covenant began to retreat to cover, leaving behind dozens of their comrades corpses and -to my horror- hundreds of civilian corpses scattered along the road._

_"Move to engage hostile Covenant forces." Red said over our Teams COM with us leaping out of cover in comply._

_"Nice work Sierras." I heard a Marine behind us say as we slowly went after the retreating Covenant._

_"Yeah," I heard another Marine agreed "you saved a lot of lives."_

_Jorge chuckled over the COM.__  
_

_I simply smiled..._

_Me and my SPARTAN family were heroes..._

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[2128 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard UNSC _Kryptonite _Dropship-77-Troop Carrier: Charlie-40, Approaching Sentinel Wall Around Library, Installation 06.****  
**

**Red-098...**

* * *

Red was comforted by the loud sounds of the Pelican's roaring engines... in reassured him that nothing was wrong...

Something was wrong, though... He felt... odd... Ever since he came into contact with the Captain of the UNSC Kryptonite,he had been not functioning to his full potential. Red, of course, knew why. She was his twin sister... they felt what each other was feeling... And they could feel each other's mental state.

And 098 was feeling oddly grim lately; he had the feeling of wanting to cry -which he couldn't despite his body wanting the contrary.

_I'll always protect you... _098 quickly shook his head to get the odd feeling out of his head.

"Are you functioning well, Reclaimer?" Fleighted Fire asked over the suit's COM.

Fleighted Fire must had picked up on his mental state of mine via the Forerunner neural interface _Negative _"Negative." 098 replied indifferently as he turned his head to look out of the Pelican's blood-tray, watching as the landscape went by.

"Can you operate this priority task, Reclaimer?" Fleighted Fire questioned him, its voice low and concerned tone.

_Affirmative. _"Affirmative." 098 replied.

"You're sure?" Timmy asked over the COM.

Lighter Than Some was a fast worker; it managed to make the Forerunner neural interface able to connect to Human COM channels in a matter of minutes; 098 reckoned that Lighter may win the war if they get it back to ONI, and couldn't reach an agreement with the Elites._  
_

_Affirmative. _"Affirmative." 098 replied.

"I guess it's too late to late to stop the mission anyway." Timmy stated.

_Affirmative. _"Absolutely," Fleighted Fire replied before 098 could "I have tasked the Sentinels and Enforcers located at the quarantine zone to provide the designated Reclaimer with a single window of opportunity. Anymore will be unacceptable; we must enact on this task immediately."

"Relax, Fire," The Captain broke in over the COM in an annoyed tone -one that she seemed to use a lot. _Protect you_ "Sierra already said that he's fine."

"Forgive me, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire replied "but the designated Reclaimer's status is a mandatory priority -any potential for the designated Reclaimer to be mentally unfit for this priority task is a situation I must invest myself in."

"Well, _he's fine _so you don't need to bother anymore." The Captain told Fleighted Fire over the COM._  
_

"Of course, Reclaimer." Fleighted Fire replied.

_I'll always protect you. _098 shook his head again as he got up and walked to the edge of the Pelican's blood-tray before grabbing the Z-250 Directed Energy Engagement Weapon on his back and watched as it assembled in his hand.

098 was sure to be properly armed for this mission. And luckily, the gravitational field coming off the back of the armor allowed him to have multiple Forerunner weapons floating on his back.

On the back of 098's armor, he had a Z-250 Directed Energy Engagement Weapon -or lightrifle- which he would use for long-range engagements, a Z-130 Directed Energy Automatic Weapon -or suppressor- which 098 would use for mid to close range combat, and a Z-180 Close Combat Rifle -or scattershot- which 098 would use for close-range combat.

Even though there were three weapons floating off of 098's back, they were mostly dissembled -making the weapons fit better- This allowed 098 to have other weapons as-well. Of course, the armor had no MWHS, so 098 had to have some leather tied to the weapons instead. Now, other than the Forerunner weapons, 098 had a Type-51 Directed Energy Rifle -or plasma repeater- that 098 would use for close to mid range combat, a Type-50 Directed Energy Rifle -or concussion rifle- that 098 would use for mid to long-range combat, and a Type-51 Carbine -or Covenant carbine- which 098 would use for long-range combat.

Thankfully, there was room around his armored thighs to equip some weapon belts. So 098 also had a Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle -or plasma rifle- which he would use for close to mid range combat holstered in a makeshift holster on his left high, and a Type-1 Energy Sword that 098 would use for close combat holstered in another makeshift holster on his right.

098 had a hard time getting the energy sword. But Fleighted Fire stated it would be very effective against the Flood -098 saw firsthand how effective it was. So after some convincing, Anve finally gave up his energy sword for 098's usage.

098 also had plenty of ammo for the Covenant weapons that required ammo, and plenty of Covenant, Forerunner, and UNSC grenades on his grenade belt and in two satchels on either side of his hip.

Strangely enough, all the weapons and equipment didn't make the armor feel any heavier.

Now, if all the weapons, grenades, and equipment weren't enough, 098 also had about 300 Sentinels and 40 Enforcers backing him up.

"30 secs." The familiar voice of Tuscany Clad announced over the COM channel.

_Acknowledged. _"Acknowledged." 098 replied over the COM just as he saw at least three dozen Sentinels come into view from the blood-tray -obviously Sentinels sent to assist 098.

"Shit." 098 heard Amber Wong mutter over the COM.

_Status elaboration required. _"Status?" 098 asked.

"You ain't gonna believe what we're seeing, Sierra." Wong explained.

"There's no way in hell we're landing this bird." Clad added.

"This ship will not be required to land, Reclaimers," Fleighted Fire broke in over the COM "for the impact stabilizer layer and gravitational field functioning within the class twelve combat skin that the designated Reclaimer is wearing will allow the designated Reclaimer to free-fall down into the designated entry zone to the Sentinel wall."

"He _is not _jumping out of that Pelican." The Captain quickly interjected.

"It is a required mandatory objective for the successful completion of this priority task," Fleighted Fire countered "The designated Reclaimer's survival chances are 100 percent; it is against protocol for me to assist in the harming or potential harming of a Reclaimer -unless protocol dictates to the contrary."

"Ma'am, orders?" Clad asked over the Pelican as it came to a stop.

098 heard the Captain sigh over the COM channel _I'll always protect you. _"If he dies, Fire-"

"Relax, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire interrupted the Captain "The designated Reclaimer's survival of this mandatory objective of this priority task is my up-most concern. The designated Reclaimer's termination is not inevitable."

"I take that as a yes." Clad said as the Pelican began to turn, and 098 finally saw the Library and Sentinel wall... and the Flood.

The Library was huge, and looked like a reactor with arches surrounding the top of the Library where a glowing light shot up into the dark, cloudy sky.

The Library was rested over a river -the river must have ran under the Library- and there were tropical mountains surrounding the Library in every direction. But running along the mountains was the giant Sentinel wall that surrounded the Library for miles -effectively blocking the Library off from the rest of Halo.

Coming up from the Sentinel walls was the containment field. And 098 looked down to see the main entrance to the quarantine zone had hundred of Sentinels, Enforcers, and Forerunner turrets shooting at something that wasn't visible -obviously the Flood- through the tunnel that served as the entrance.

The perimeter that the Sentinels and Enforcers had set up was full of barricades and fortifications that faced the entrance tunnel to the Sentinel wall.

098 looked up and saw that a lot of distance was to be covered from the Sentinel wall to the Library itself. And in between that distance, 098 saw a large hive covering the entire quarantine zone.

098 had to go in there.

"Reclaimer, jump when you're ready." Fleighted Fire told him over the COM.

_Affirmative. _098 looked around to examine what he would do, when he suddenly saw hundreds of small Flood forms -that Fleighted Fire and the Monarch referred to as "Infection Forms"- pouring out of the tunnel and into the line of fired from the Forerunner turrets, Sentinels. and Enforcers.

The Sentinels and Enforcers that were to assist 098 broke off and went down to assist in eliminating the Infection Forms. They weren't fast enough, though, as at least four Infection Forms made it past the perimeter and rushed off into the jungles.

_Possibility of future contact with designated Flood Infection Forms: high. _Fleighted Fire -who saw everything 098 saw through a live feed in his helmet- must had seen that 098 was watching the fleeing Infection Forms, and spoke up "All Flood forms that escape from the quarantine zone will be marked via a satellite above this area, and effectively tracked down and terminated."

098 looked up and saw the Forerunner satellite before looking back down to the entrance.

098 slung his lightrifle over his back and drew his Covenant carbine. _Approximately__ 14 seconds to traverse from D-77-TC to POE of quarantine zone. Possibility of survival: uncertain. Forerunner A.I -designated "Fleighted Fire" reassures of probable survival. Beginning free-fall jump in 5...4...3...2...1... _098 stepped off of the blood-tray's edge.

"Good luck, Sierra." Wong said over the COM as the night air whooshed past 098 while he fell at full speed to the ground.

_Contact with with ground near POE in 3...2...1... _098 slammed into the ground -not staggering a bit- and hurried behind a Forerunner barricade.

_Engaging. _098 leaned out of cover and shot a radioactive projectile into an Infection Form -which blew the Infection Form into a pile of yellow mist and goo.

_Ineffective against Infection Forms. _098 realized that the Covenant carbine wouldn't work against a swarm of Infection Forms, and quickly went back into cover.

"Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire said over the COM "engaging the Infection Forms in ranged combat is ineffective and irrelevant. I recommend that you simply charge past them. The hardlight shield around the combat skin will protect you from damage. And the tasked Sentinels will be tasked to reinforce the combat skin's hardlight shields at your request. I will also inform you that a large amount of static electricity surrounds the combat skin, so any Infection Form that comes into physical contact with the combat skin will be immediately terminated. This will work with the Combat Forms as-well, but it is somewhat limited and will not do as much damage to the Combat Form -since it is similar to a combat skin for the Infection Forms."

"You failed to mention this earlier." The Captain stated in an annoyed tone over the COM.

"You never gave me the chance, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire countered "You proceeded to question me as to how the designated Reclaimer gets into the combat skin before I could reach the designated topic."

098 let out an annoyed grunt at the arguing "Irrelevant," He broke in "I need elaboration on how to make the Sentinels reinforce my hardlight shields."

"Simply tell them, Reclaimer." Fleighted Fire replied.

_Affirmative _"Reinforce my hardlight shields." 098 said aloud.

Immediately, all the Sentinels that were assigned to him rallied to him with at least 40 of the 300 Sentinels beginning to project a beam towards him.

With his shields reinforced, 098 leaped out of cover and ran at full speed towards the tunnel.

_Current velocity exceeds theory. Velocity equals approx 2 times the velocity allowed in MJOLNIR Mark IV. Possibility of potential hazard at current velocity: average to high. _098 didn't have time to properly test the armor out. So he was surprised when he figured out that he was currently running at 68.1 mph -a feat that was considered hazardous while wearing the MJOLNIR Mark IV.

As 098 ran through the wide tunnel, Infection Forms clung onto his armored leg only to explode into a yellow mist a millisecond later, Sentinels blasted apart surrounding Combat Forms -made up from various different animals across the ring- and Carrier Forms exploded to have dozens of Infection Forms blast everywhere.

The tunnel was large and -from the Fleighted Fire stated- went straight through the Sentinel wall until it reached the gondola that would take 098, the Sentinels, and the Enforcers across the apparent split between the Sentinel wall that split the wall in half with the quarantine zone on the far side.

There were various tunnels that split off from the main tunnel that 098 was running through, which must had led deeper into the Sentinel wall. There were also smaller hatches higher up on the walls that had Sentinels coming out of them who immediately began attacking the seemly endless Flood counter attack.

The different tunnels were irrelevant; 098 saw where he needed to go and he wasn't going to stop until he got there.

A Combat Form -made up from a large deer like creature that the Diverted Elites hunted for food that they called "Zarrifs"- latched onto 098's back as he ran. And without wasting time to stop, he leaped up into the air and turned his body so that the Combat Form was facing the Sentinels that were desperately attempting to get it off. And as 098 planned, the Sentinels carefully attacked the Combat Form with their lasers, and 098 landed his feet back onto the ground before running at full speed forward -leaving the now dead Combat Form to be melted down.

Two more Combat Forms -resembling a Zarrif and a Guta like predator that hunted Zarrifs that the Elites called "Yulanxs"- appeared out of nowhere. _Gun combat initiated -engage._ 098 halted and slung his Covenant carbine over his back before grabbing his scattershot, waited for it to assemble in his hands, then shot at the Zarrif Combat Form with all but two ionized particle missing it. And the two particles that did manage to hit it made it stop charging 098 as it began to disintegrate. **  
**

098 quickly shifted his aim to the Yulanx Combat Form, but it quickly dodged to the right, out-of-the-way of 098's aim before bringing its large arms in and smashing them across 098's chest, sending him flying back a few feet and hitting the ground with the impact making 098 let go of his scattershot.

"Sierra?" The Captain grunted, and 098 noticed that his energy shields were disrupted.

Luckily, before the Combat Form could get attack 098, about a dozen Sentinel laser beams took it in the chest -effectively melting it as it let out a screech of anger.

"Status: green, ma'am." 098 reassured the Captain and wasted no time in immediately getting up and grabbing his scattershot before breaking into a sprint again.

More Combat and Infection Forms came out from tunnels leading deeper into the Sentinel wall. And, thankfully, this time the Sentinels and Enforcers quickly eliminated them before they could engage 098 "I have re-tasked the tasked Sentinels and Enforcers, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire informed him "so you should no longer be ambushed by Flood forces."

_Acknowledged _"Acknowledged." 098 replied as the exit to the tunnel began to get larger and larger until 098 could see the large gondola. He could also see a large Flood defensive perimeter blocking his way. And without a second thought, 098 slung his scattershot over his back and pulled the suppressor out and waited for it to assemble in his hands before he raised it and fired at the Flood wall -all the while sprinting at 67.4 mph.

The light mass rounds from the suppressor hit various Combat Forms, and the Combat Forms staggered as the rounds pierced their mushy flesh. But it wouldn't be enough. _Light mass round effective. But ineffective at current engagement. Z-180 Close Combat Rifle mandatory current engagement._ With the plan figured out, 098 slung the suppressor over his back where he heard it disassemble before he pulled the scattershot off of his back and waited for it to assemble in his hands. And by the time it was assembled, he was but moments from running into the Flood defensive wall.

Smashing into the Flood, 098 raised his scattershot to the face of a Combat Form -made out of a feline like predator that the Elites decided to call "Hellets"- and shot it in the face, effectively disintegrating it as 098 slammed into another Combat Form.

Electricity zapped across his armor, and the Combat Form jumped back with electricity running through it. 098 took this chance to eliminated it with a shot to what remained of its face before he turned around and began shooting at the dozens of Combat Forms that were leaping towards him.

Thankfully, the scattershot's ionized particles managed to hit each Combat Form, and they immediately began to disintegrate as the Sentinels assisted him. But a single Combat Form managed to survive the ionized particle rounds, and the scattershot needed to be reloaded. Luckily, before it could leap on 098 and caused him annoyance, a Sentinel beam shot through its chest -where the Infection Form was thankfully located- and immediately killed it as the other Sentinels began to melt the body down.

098 reloaded his scattershot and noticed that the Enforcers were finally catching up to his and the Sentinel's position; they were slower than 098 and the Sentinels, so it would take them longer to traverse the tunnel.

The final round was fed into the scattershot, and 098 spun around to find that the platform that the gondola was connected up to seemed clear; it was likely that the entire Flood counter attack was just wiped out.

"That was highly unusual," Fleighted Fire mused over the COM "the Flood don't engage in such strategic and coordinated combat until they reach the Coordinated Stage -which is impossible; no Gravemind has currently been detected throughout this Installation."

With the area clear, 098 ignored what Fleighted Fire said -assuming it was just it thinking aloud to itself- and hurried forward -confident that the Sentinels and Enforcers would attack any Flood Forms that attempted to ambush him- and arrived at the console controls for the gondola "Inform me of the start-up procedures." 098 told Fleighted Fire over his COM channel before he got ready to press what holographic buttons Fleighted Fire told him to; the sounds of Sentinels and Enforcers rallying behind him filled his helmet.

"It's the large button to the right, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire informed him "It's always the large button."_  
_

_Acknowledged _"Acknowledged." 098 grunted in annoyance as he pressed the "large button" with the gondola rumbling to life.

"Might I recommend you use your Z-250 Directed Energy Engagement Weapon for ranged engagement, Reclaimer. I am detecting additional Flood forces awaiting your arrival at the platform the designated gondola is on-route to."

_Acknowledged _"Acknowledged." 098 slung his scattershot over his back to hear it dissemble before he pulled his lightrifle from his back and watched as it assembled in his hands.

"Sierra," The Captain broke in over the COM "is everything going according to plan?"

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 replied before raising the lightrifle towards the platform to see Flood Combat, Infection, and Carrier Forms awaiting his arrival. And 098 began to fire at them with the Sentinels and Enforcers going over to eliminate them as-well.

"Good- good," The Captain replied over the COM in a worried tone as 098 eliminated a Combat Form. _I will always protect you, Nai... Irrelevant. Mission success priority one_ "Hey, We still need to talk talk. How about when you get back, _okay_?"

_Negative. Engaging in verbal elaboration of classified Intel restricted _"Negative." 098 replied as he eliminated another Combat Form only to have an Infection Form enter the corpse and bring it back to life.

_Let me out. _The Captain let out a sigh "I _will _order you to-"

"SHUT UP." 098 roared over the COM, dropping his lightrifle as he began to hold his armored hands to his helmet _Let me out! You can't keep me buried forever! I'm not a machine!_

"Don't _speak to me _like that." The Captain coldly and aggressively told 098.

_MPD confirmed. Effectiveness in current to future missions and operations lowered to zero percent. Mission abort essential. _"Abort mission, ma'am." 098 said as his vision began to go fuzzy. _You were created out of hatred and spite... You're weak... _

"What?!" The Captain exclaimed.

_Allow me to elaborate. _"Effectiveness in current mission lowered to zero percent. Mission abort essential to my survival." 098 explained as he steadied himself on a wall on the gondola. He could hear the Sentinels and Enforcers on the gondola open fire which must had meant that the gondola was closing in on the platform.

"Fire, get him out of there." The Captain ordered Fleighted Fire in an alarmed and worried tone, obviously feeling 098's confused mental state of mind. _I want to hold her... I want to tell her I love her... __  
_

"The designated Reclaimer must wait until the anti-gravity gondola reaches its designated location; it cannot go back until it's docked. Once the gondola is docked, the designated Reclaimer may proceed to initiate the anti-gravity gondola's start up procedures to exit the quarantine zone." Fleighted Fire explained.

"_What the?_" The Captain said in confusion over the COM "Red, what's... _happening_?"

_Negative on requested elaboration _"Negative on requested elaboration." 098 replied as he stumbled to the gondola's ground.

"The designated Reclaimer is in an alarming amount of danger," Fleighted Fire warned the Captain "The designated Reclaimer's vitals and mental statistics are alarmingly out of control!"

"_Just_ _Get him to ride a damn Enforcer out of there._" The Captain coldly and quietly ordered Fleighted Fire as 098 grabbed a pillar and pulled himself blindly to his feet.

"Of course, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire complied "Reclaimer, please approach the designated Enforcer I have marked on the class twelve combat skin's helmet navigation display."

_Negative. Cannot initiate in designated objective _"Negative. Cannot initiate in designated objective . Eyesight function 10 percent." 098 explained as he began to hear the Sentinels and Enforcers surrounding the gondola begin to attack the Flood on the opposite platform; the gondola was getting close.

"Reclaimer, stand up straight, then hold out your left arm," Fleighted Fire told him "The Enforcer I have tasked with assisting you should then be able to grab your arm to assist you."

_Affirmative _"Affirmative." 098 did so and felt one of the Enforcer's arms grab his arm, and he quickly brought his other arm around to grab the Enforcer's arm in order to pull himself up.

"_Your escape from your demise is not permitted, food._" 098 heard a deep voice boom through his internal speakers.

"What's that?" The Captain asked over the COM.

"I have failed containment protocol, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire replied in a very dreary tone "The Flood have formed a Gravemind."

If everything 098 had heard from the Monarch about Flood Graveminds was correct, then everyone on Halo was in serious danger.

"_Get him out of there_ _NOW!_" The Captain ordered Fleighted Fire with the Enforcer beginning to rise in compliance. But before it could even leave the area of the gondola, 098 heard an electricity static sound boom out, and he suddenly felt the Enforcer drop back onto the gondola. And as soon as the Enforcer hit the gondola, the impact threw 098 off of it and to the gondola's floors.

"This is disastrous!" Fleighted Fire exclaimed "The Gravemind has integrated itself with Forerunner machinery and appliances! It has control over multiple weapon systems -including a harmful electromagnetic pulse output device!"

"_WHY DIDN'T YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS?!_" The Captain roared in rage over the COM.

"Reclaimer, you must understand: the satellites I have stationed and tasked above the quarantine zone cannot give me any visual on what the Flood have developed inside the Library itself." Fleighted Fire explained.

"_Get Sierra out of there!_" The Captain ordered Fleighted Fire in a cold voice._  
_

"I cannot assist the designated Reclaimer any further," Fleighted Fire stated "all Enforcers and Sentinels within the quarantine zone have been deactivated until further notice. And reinforcements will not only prove ineffective in assisting the designated Reclaimer, they will not even arrive within the time scale to save the designated Reclaimer."

The Captain let out a cry on annoyance, frustration, and anger. _Let me tell her I love her before I die! Damn you, Halsey! _"Red..."

098 felt some smash into his back, and he went flying a few feet before hitting the gondola's hard ground.

"Reclaimer!" Fleighted Fire exclaimed "Stand up straight, wait for five seconds, then physically engage a Flood Combat Form at with your right arm at 220 degrees."

_Acknowledged _"Acknowledged." 098 replied. Even though he could hardly see, he knew maths well enough to work out his angle and the angle he had to attack in.

When the five seconds were up, 098 snapped his right arm around in the direction, and felt his armored arm smash into the body of a Combat Form. And now knowing where the Combat Form was, 098 wasted no time in landing three more punches before he heard the Combat Form roar in anger as his punch must had hit the Infection Form lodged in its chest.

Before 098 could recover from punching the Combat Form, he began to hear loud and heavy rumbling that shook him.

"Oh my..." Fleighted Fire quietly remarked "This is just a theory that has potential... but I believe the Flood mean to capture the designated Reclaimer."

The Captain let out a sigh, the rumbling was getting heavier "How do you know this?"

"It's simple, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire began to explain "The Flood could not possibly remove the designated Reclaimer to the Library without a considerable amount of casualties. So to resolve this, the Gravemind decided to take a high risk, and move closer to the designated Reclaimer; I shall send images of the Gravemind moving to your personal console."

The rumbling was increasing "Reclaimer!" Fleighted Fire exclaimed "270 degrees, left arm! -engage now!"

098 quickly snapped his left arm around and connected it with a Combat Form before he began laying more and more punches into it, smashing it apart with what 098 assumed was yellow gore splashing over his armor -he didn't need to see it to know it was there.

The Combat Form eventually let out a dying roar, and 098 quickly recovered him just as a heavy rumble made him stumble to the ground.

"Fire," The Captain said over the COM in a voice that sounded like she was about to break down into tears "What will _it _do you him?"

"Upon calculated and collected data on the Gravemind's operational capacity: It will no doubt torture the designated Reclaimer for information. I then believe it would have an Infection Form take control of the designated Reclaimer. first it will attack the designated Reclaimer's nervous system via the designated Reclaim-"

"I don't need the details!" The Captain snapped "I just need to know _if it will hurt_?"

"Most certainly, Reclaimer," Fleighted Fire confirmed "And it is most likely that the designated Reclaimer -due to his advance mental and physical statistics- will not die from the initial attack -leaving the designated Reclaimer aware of what is happening as-well as in unimaginable pain."

098 heard the Captain sniffle over the COM "Sier- Red... terminate yourself -_that's an order_."

_Affirmative_ "Affirmative." 098 complied with Wong exclaiming over the COM channel at the same time"_What?! _You _can't be serious, Captain?_"

"I can't let delicate Intel fall into the hands of the Flood... and Red is my fraternal twin brother; we can feel what each other feels." The Captain explained as 098 removed his helmet and deactivated his shields.

"Wait, Reclaimer!" Fleighted Fire exclaimed, but it was too late.

"_Fool_" The voice said right before 098 felt something snap into the back of his head. Pain washed over his body as he felt something tear into his head and neck.

The last thing 098 heard was the pained screamed of his sister...

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** Thank you faithful and kind readers!**

**I first want to apologize. I said in the previous chapters that a lot of Flood action was coming up. Unfortunately, due to me changing how the plot was going to play out (for the better) I removed 098 making his way through the actual quarantine zone.  
I'm also not very good when trying to describe melee combat (the Flood just made it harder) so I decided to try to limit it.  
I apologize to anyone who is annoyed by this.**

**Second: I apologize for the length it took me to submit this chapter. Between looking at houses that we may or may not move in to, watching the Hobbit series (series so far) with a friend, playing Dark Souls 2, and grieving for the loss of Robin Williams, I have been working on this. The next chapter should be out a lot sooner.**

**New Follower Alert! Ding! Ding! Ding! hi ace50 and ShootingKill.**

**Of course, I ask that ShootingKill leave a single review so I can make him into an OC if he wants (Unless he already has left a review but I didn't see it. In which case, I ask him to inform me of that mistake I made)**

**hi ace50 has already left a review. So I ask him to tell me in another review or P.M the details he wants for an OC if he wants one.**

**One last thing: I couldn't get some proper example of measurement and distance. All I found that could give me the help I needed was a 360 degree angle example bibbly bobbly blip. And I apologize if the angle the Monitor told 098 to attack in is impossible or something like that (I tried my best to work it out, but I've never really been good a maths)**

**Please report any lore mistakes or typos I made in a review or P.M. and please just review telling what you think as well! **

**And why the hell does this site let me put P.M. in but not A.I. in? Wait... it didn't remove it? What the hell?!**

******************************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, xX****Life'sAPopsicleXx, gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7, goldmonk, ArmoredFury, Mumble8, ultimate idiot, SpeedyNaomi, Hunter092, ShootingKill, hi ace50.**

******************************************************My Beloved Farewells To The King Of Comedy!**


	19. Chapter Eighteen: Dismay

**[ CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: DISMAY ]**

* * *

_To thine own eyes: Fleet-Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee._**  
**

_Worthy and most noble Fleet-Master._

_I have received word of the heretical Oracle activating a device of great Heresy on the sacred ring.  
With the council's feet being unable to feel the warmth of Halo's divine soil, I have concluded that until this grand device of heresy is destroyed, High Charity will remain in the safety of Covenant space.  
_

_I know that you will have this task completed soon. And once you have, inform me immediately.  
This sacred ring's discovery is still a secret to the Covenant. And the urges to spring this blessed surprise is taking hold of me.  
I plead that High Charity can soon begin its traversal to this holy ring so we may start the Greta Journey_

_I have Also reviewed your request to apprehend the holy Prophet of Pity if evidence concludes that he had Zealot Var 'Lultamee murdered by using his holy political powers __illegally.  
Upon a great amount of consideration, I have concluded that forcefully apprehending the holy Prophet of Pity for these crimes is impossible.  
Even if either of us do not wish to believe it, the holy Prophet of Pity is an asset to the high council and the Covenant as a whole.  
And a bigger revelation dawns on this topic. _

_Once this sacred ring's discovery is revealed to the Covenant, they will worship the holy Prophet of Pity's feet as much as yours.  
It would be a devastation for the Covenant to find out that such a hero is involved in such scandal._

_With this conclusion, I hereby forbid any mention of the holy Prophet of Pity having murdering Zealot Var 'Lultamee, under the punishment of execution and removal from the Great Journey._

_But do not believe for a second that the Prophet of Pity shall escape punishment. But what punishment there is, will be done quietly by me, the high Prophet of Mercy, and the high Prophet of Regret._

_I bid you safe tidings. And I ask that you act within my orders accordingly._

_By my own hands: High Prophet of Truth._

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[2159 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Fleet-Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee's Quarters, The ********Base Of Forerunner Portal, Installation 06.**

**Vale Nar 'Sarasee...**

* * *

Vale slid the holographic message away from his consoles screen with a flick of his hand, and proceeded to chuckle to himself "So, that's how it is."-

* * *

**September 9, 2555 ****[1126 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Unknown _Sahara_-class heavy Prowler.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

"Wait, wait, wait," West quickly interrupted Red while almost tumbling out of his seat "Vale's POV? Sierra, don't leave me on a _cliffhanger_; I mean, this is as far as the surviving crew of the _Kryptonite _has told me about what happened on Halo; despite my orders for them to report everything that happened, they persisted to withhold information -something they could be executed for."

_As I told them so. And it's not that I want to just step away from my capture by the Flood like this. _"Remember, I don't have a choice about how I inform you of all this Intel." Red reminded West.

West began to sit forward keenly in his seat while he grabbed his Data-pad from the table and began writing something down with his stylus "I understand. You can continue with Vale if you want. But I'm still curious as to _why _the survivors of the _Kryptonite _would risk execution for something that you're only going to tell me anyway."

_It's much more complicated than you think. But you know that, don't you? _"Why the crew didn't tell you will be explained as well." Red reassured West.

"Yeah, Yeah, I know," West reminded Red as he put his Data-pad back onto the table "I'm just eager, that's all."

_Really I'm to say that? It's not nice to tease him _"We're getting close, sir. To when... _it _comes into the picture." Red stated with West immediately looking up to face him.

"I already know what it is..." West stated. _Of course you do. _"and I'm sorry for what must have happened to you... But that _doesn't_ _explain _how you knew about my dead son," West began lightly shaking his head "I doubt the Flood can read minds."

_He has no idea. I know everything, food__._ "You'll soon know. _At least_... that's what _it _wants. And I don't know if _it _plans on changing _its' _mind." Red rubbed the back of his head.

"We'll soon find out," West shrugged as he took another sip of his coffee while gesturing for Red to continue "Go ahead."

_Affirmative. _"Affirmative." Red nodded.

_Similar in features to a mystery... the truth will soon arise... food..._

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[2159 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Fleet-Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee's Quarters, The ********Base Of Forerunner Portal, Installation 06.**

**Vale Nar 'Sarasee...**

* * *

Vale slid the holographic message away from his consoles screen with a flick of his hand, and proceeded to chuckle to himself "So, that is how it is."

Vale was not surprised by the Prophet of Truths' response. In face, he had expected it, he had wanted it. And that was for a simple reason: Vale knew that the Prophet of Pity was not stupid enough to just have Var murdered over such a minor thing -more so after Vale made such a threat. And Vale knew the instant that Var went missing that the Prophet of Pity was behind it. And that he acted out of orders -not blind stupidity.

The Prophets were hiding something...

Vale wasted no more time, and opened a private transmission to Qrs 'Jaragsai.

The Prophets must had not known of Vales' cunning and intelligence. He sent his most trusted soldiers after the Humans and Heretics for a reason.

Qrs image appeared on the holographic screen "Fleet-Master." Qrs nodded his head in respect.

"Brother," Vale returned the nod before continuing "My theory has been confirmed. The Prophet of Pity acted out on orders. And my conclusion has been unveiled: the Prophets are hiding something."

"Orders?" Qrs calmly clicked his hidden mandibles in question.

_Straight to the point -excellent. _"I took note of the Prophet of Pitys' attempting to try to divert me from seeing the Heretics in any way," Vale began "I still do not know why. But I know that making contact with the Heretics is vital to uncovering a potential plot."

"I am to make contact with them?" Qrs calmly clicked his mandibles in question.

_Yes. _"Yes," Vale nodded his head in confirmation "I understand they are with the Humans. But there is always a reason behind such drastic actions. Ignore any heresy or hatred that comes from this; making contact with the Heretics is mandatory -no matter what we must do."

"I understand." Qrs nodded in reply.

_I have no doubt that you do. _"Also, inform Yexyn of what I have revealed as well," Vale told him "he I know I can trust with such a task. And he is to do his best to assist you in the task I have laid upon your shoulders. But remember, you must act discreetly."

"Of course." Qrs nodded in reply.

_This will hopefully play out how I desire it to. _"I shall speak with you soon." Vale clicked his mandibles in parting as he disconnected the transmission and leaned back into his hovering seat.

_How absurd that he expected me to believe that a single Oracle was for some reason rogue. And now he expects me to believe that this sacred ring "has been infected by the rogue Oracles' heresy"? Please..._

_I am no fool..._

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[2200 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite _****Dropship 77-Troop Carrier: **Charlie-41, Assigned To Hunting Down Flood Forces, Installation 06.

**Thel 'Lodam...**

* * *

"It means _WHAT_?" Thel roared in shock.

"I repeat: The Human term 'fuck' is a slang term for mating." The Monarch explained over the open COM channel that the Huragok linked the Diverted to.

_I feel sick!_ Thel almost went on a rampage when he found out what "Shit" meant. Now, he wished he never found out the truth so that he could continue killing the pathetic creatures.

"_Disgusting worms_." Anve snapped his mandibles in disgust as he fired his Type-50 particle beam rifle at a fleeing Flood Form that was made up by the same creature as the Flood Form that attacked the Demon earlier that day.

"We're... _right here_." A Human named Jacob Dalton reminded them in a mock voice.

_We know this. But we simply do not care. _Thel turned to face the Human and let out a hiss.

"Got one." Another Human with odd colored skin by the name of Mysef Alum announced in its' odd Human accent.

"Don't get cocky." The Human leader by the name of Lynda told Mysef as it too fired its' stupid looking sniper-rifle.

Thel picked up his beam rifle and aimed into the distant jungle. It was initially hard to kill the Flood Combat Forms when the Human dropship was moving. But after Thel informed Lynda of this, it called Thel and his men "Pussies" -which Thel was going to get the Monarch to define in a moment- before she told the dropships' pilot to stay idle.

A shot quickly rang out which killed the Combat Form Thel was about to kill. And with each of his targets being taken out by the Humans, Thel hissed through his gritted mandibles in annoyance before lowering his mandibles and taking a seat on one of the Humans' annoying seats.

"Wade, ammo." Lynda quickly said with the Human named Wade Tulnai walking out of its corner before chucking her a Human sniper clip and concluding with it going back to its' corner in the dropship.

Thel was observant of Wade. All it did was lean on a wall next to the door that led to the dropships' cockpit, and stared at Thel and his men -as if it was watching them. Thel was worried this Human might try something.

"Got one!" A Unggoy Heavy by the name of Dlapyap beamed._  
_

"That one was already dead." Anve told the Unggoy before smacking the creature over the head for his stupidity with him letting out a cry on pain before going over to a Human seat where he was comforted by his kin as he cried. _These creatures are so stupid it is almost... amusing._

"I have some drastic news to report to you," The Monarch suddenly said over the Human Battlenet. _This cannot be good. And I think I know what it means to tell us._ "The Reclaimer sent into the quarantine zone has been captured by a Flood Gravemind."

_Just as I predicted. _Thel watched as the Humans around the dropship began to let out annoyed and angry groans and yells.

Thel even noticed that Anve was twitching him mandibles in annoyance. But he knew it was not for the Demons' well being.

Anve threw his beam rifle to the dropships' ground in anger "Damn it! The Demon had my sword!"

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[2204 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Bridge, Installation 06.****  
**

**Rhine Dorhan...**

* * *

"Is the Captain okay?" Lieutenant Lilly Gantant asked Doctor Hallas Day as she spotted him entering the room.

"No," Hallas calmly replied before he came to a stop in the center of the bridge "The medics say she is usually in some sort of pain... but they say that this is the _worst_ they have ever seen her. And the fact is, we can't seem to find out what's _wrong_ with her. At least, that was until she painfully mumbled that Sierra-098 is her fraternal twin brother, and they can feel what each other feels."

Rhine Dorhan almost jumped out of his seat upon hearing this. _Is ONI was so stupid as to let someone so closely related to a SPARTAN join the Navy? This war has made us stoop low indeed.__  
_

"_Really?_" Ensign Benjamin Hardinworth chuckled in amazement "She always said... But... _this is amazing_?"

"Yes, _really lovely_," Lieutenant Joseph Gamble broke in with his usual grumpy voice "It doesn't really mean much, though, now that the Petty Officer is being tortured by the Flood."

_As much as I dislike the way you put it... you're right. _It was almost odd seeing all these people having a conversation without even shifting their eyes from their consoles, or moving from their assigned stations.

"Don't worry, We'll get him outta there,_ right?_" Lieutenant James Frassal -one of the _Kryptonites' _Weapons Officers- asked.

_Sadly, you're wrong. _

"I doubt that's gonna happen," Gantant stated "I heard the Captain order Sierra to commit suicide to prevent her from being inflicted by his pain -which obviously didn't happen."

_Shit. That's right. _

"She did what?" Hallas calmly asked them.

"Fucking bitch told the Sierra to kill himself to save herself from pain." Ensign Alex Giles -one of the _Kryptonites' _Weapon Officers- clarified in his usual cold voice.

_You have the facts wrong, you idiot!_ "That's not what happened!" Rhine shot up out of his chair in anger "she told Sierra-098 to kill himself to prevent Intel from falling into the _hands of the Flood_! Maybe you have forgotten, but Earths' safety is the UNSCs' number one priority!" Rhine wasted no time in hurrying over to Giles' station and placing a firm hand on his shoulder. _I'm sick of these runts. _"And as everyone noticed, the Captain _was in tears when she gave the order_!"

Giles shoved Rhine's hand off of his shoulder "It takes a sick person to order their own family member to kill themselves." He stated with Rhine placing his hand sternly on his shoulder again.

_I'd to the same. _"No, this makes her stronger, you _damn moron_," Rhine tightened his hand around Giles' shoulder "Anyway, you're just pissed about the kick she landed to your face earlier."

Giles' let out a grunt of anger, but didn't continue. _Damn idiot. _Rhine finally released his grip of Giles' shoulder, and walked over to Hallas who -along with everyone else who was idle on the bridge- was looking at him.

"That wasn't necessary." Hallas calmly stated as Rhine stopped in front of him.

_Yes, it was._ "I'm sick of these Navy runts," Rhine whispered. _I'm just sprouting useless words._ "Ah, it's irrelevant. I need to speak with you, now."

"Okay." Hallas nodded with Rhine turning around to make his way off of the bridge.

_Now comes the bad part about this revelation._

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[2213 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

******The Base Of Forerunner Portal, Installation 06.**

******Vale Nar 'Sarasee...**

* * *

"Holy Prophet of Pity," Vale bowed before the Prophet of Pity who was out for some fresh air, the cold grass of Halo rubbed against Vale's clothed knee as he knelt "I bring word of the holy high Prophet of Truths' response on my request to apprehend you for illegal use of your political power."

The Honor Guards surrounding the Prophet began to get ready in-case they had to arrest the Prophet of Pity. But the two Brute Captain Ultras and Careekius seemed unfazed by what was happening.

The Prophet of Pity let out a smirk as he began rubbing his wobbles. _You are only furthering my heretical theory. _"The Prophet of Truth has refused my request," Vale began "You are safe from justice -but only until _High Charity_ arrives for you to be judged discreetly. Furthermore, any mention of you being involved with Zealot Var 'Lultamees' murder will be met with a swift punishment of execution."

The Prophet of Pity could not contain the grin on his face, and the Honor Guards began to relax.

But just as Vale was about to turn and head back to his quarters, the Prophet of Pitys' sneering voice called him "Fleet-Master, get on your knees before me -the holy Prophet of Pity."

_Your attempts to harm me by smacking me is ineffective. _Vale nevertheless, did what he was told, and knelt before the Prophet.

"Careekius," The Prophet of Pity turned to the Jiralhanae Chieftain. _Really? This is only going to make you out as weak. _"ten hits across his face; hard as you can."_  
_

Careekius reluctantly nodded and walked over to Vale where his eyes showed sadness. _Oh, no; I do not hate you for your actions that are about to come into effect. _Vale gave Careekius a reassuring nod.

Careekius nodded in reply, sadness still in his eyes, and hit Vale across the side of his face, sending blood and one of Vales' teeth splattering out of his mandibles. _Damn! You hit hard!_

The Prophet of Pity let out a giggle as Careekius landed another hit before Vale could recover, sending purple blood flying from his mouth and spluttering onto the cold ground. _This will leave me dazed for days!_

Vales' vision began to blur as another hit sent two teeth and blood spraying out of his mouth like a fountain. _I shall face my punishment with pride; you will not have me beg, Prophet of Pity._

Vale held a hand to the ground, and supported himself until he was up straight. And just as Vale wanted, the Prophet of Pitys' laughter died down when he realized Vale was taking this like a warrior.

Careekius was about to land a fourth hit when Vale spotted a Ghost speeding out from a nearby forest and rushing their way without stop.

"Careekius." Vale breathlessly clicked his mandibles in an attempt to warn them.

"Ah, ah!" The Prophet of Pity almost jumped out of his anti-gravity throne "He finally begs for mercy!"

_If you would be quiet, you could be warned of your possible demise. _Vale pointed towards the speeding Ghost "Behind you."

The Honor Guards, the Prophet of Pity, Careekius, and the two Captain Ultras all spun around in unison.

"Move!" The Ghost driver yelled as the Ghost got closer "It is out of my control!"

Vale bolted out-of-the-way with Careekius doing the same. But the Prophet of Pity -not being able to dodge out-of-the-way- only just got out of the Ghosts' pathway as it sped by them.

Vale snapped his head around to see a Sangheili Minor leap out of the Ghost as it slammed into the Prophets' portable quarters, and exploded, sending shrapnel flying -none of which managed to hit them. But some small bits of shrapnel hit the Minor, but was reflected by the Minors' shields.

"_HERETIC_!" The Prophet of Pity screamed in rage with everyone -including the Minor- turning to face him "YOU TRIED TO KILL ME _-THE HOLY PROPHET OF PITY!_"

Vale snaked his head around to see the Minor kneel "You misunderstand-"

"_SILENCE_!" The Prophet of Pity screamed, interrupting the young Minor "YOU DARE SPEAK IN MY -THE HOLY PROPHET OF PITYS'- PRESENCE! YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF SUCH AN HONOR!"

_This farce again? _"Back to the current topic," Vale quickly and swiftly broke in with a few clicks of his possible broken mandibles as soldiers began to rush into the courtyard to see what happened "I believe it necessary to hear this Minor out."

Two Sangheili immediately positioned themselves by the Minors' sides, likely figuring out that he was the pilot of the Ghost. Another few Sangheili and a Jiralhanae ran towards where the Ghost crashed to inspect the damage. A few Kig-Yar medics ran to the Prophets' aid, and began checking him for wounds -they also attempted to check the Honor Guards and Captain Ultras, but they shrugged them off -the Honor Guards more aggressively due to them being Sangheili.

The Prophet of Pity began to let out a deep breaths, venting his anger "I -the holy Prophet of Pity- will not allow this Heretic to explain his actions when they are already apparent."

_You believe he attempted to kill you. That is a foolish belief -for who would wish you dead? _"His arrest will fall on my hands," Vale calmly stated "and I _will _hear him out."

"_Do not speak to me -the holy Prophet of Pity- that way_." The Prophet coldly warned him.

_What way? _"What way?" Careekius asked the Prophet of Pity, taking the words out of Vales' mind.

"That way he spoke to me -the holy Prophet of Pity." The Prophet began swirling his left hand at Vale in an almost confused way.

_This is ridiculous. _"I spoke to you in no way that exempts respect." Vale calmly clicked his mandibles in statement.

"Yes you did." The Prophet protested.

_No I did not. _"He did not, holy Prophet." Careekius interjected.

"Yes he did." The Prophet protested again before falling out of his seat. _Now I understand._

"Holy Prophet," Careekius ran to the Prophets' aid, but he was already being steadied back into his seat by the Captain Ultras.

"Shock," Vale rubbed his lower mandibles in observation "Take the holy Prophet of Pity to his quarters aboard the _Everlasting Retribution_."

The Honor Guards wasted no time, and began pushing the anti-gravity throne towards the gravity lift leading into the _Everlasting Retributions' _bowls with a few soldiers assisting the Honor Guards.

"I shall try to sway him from continuing that beating." Careekius chuckled as he ran after the Prophets' escort.

_I doubt your words shall be heeded by him. But it would be a nice change. _Vale nodded at the Chieftain before snapping his head around when he saw some medics approach him.

Vale respected his races' culture. But he did not agree with the superstition that blood was the essence of honor, and that if you lost your blood, you were losing your honor. Vale hated that too many Sangheili took their lives over such a trivial thing.

Vale nodded for the Kig-Yar to approach as he knelt so they could reach his face.

_Now, back to the topic. _Vale did not lift his head to face the Minor "What is your name?"

"Skae 'Kuzomee." The Minor clicked his mandibles in reply.

_'Kuzomee? A fine lineage. _"What happened?" Vale clicked his mandibles in question at Skae.

Skae began to click his mandibles in explanation "I was with a supply convoy -delivering supplies to the outposts- when the convoy was attacked by fowl beasts of this sacred ring. I would have stayed and died with my comrades, but I was using a Ghost that was originally used by a Unggoy. And that foolish Unggoy had a Huragok modify the Ghost so that it would turn around and head back to base if the Ghost received any large amount of harmful damage. And being modified by a Huragok meant that I could not stop it."

_Your story has strength; the Huragok and Unggoy get along well. And some Unggoy are dumb enough to retreat from co,bat only to die from execution but a unit later. _"Until the Ghost is fully examined and diagnosed, you will have to be held in captivity." Vale informed him.

"I understand." Skae clicked his mandibles as the two Sangheili next to him grabbed his arms.

_This is not only to hold you captive. _"This is mainly for your protection," Vale reassured him "for the cells I am sending you to are out of the grasp of any Jiralhanae; your assassination by the Prophet of Pity will be nigh impossible."

Skae nodded again before Vale gave the two Sangheili the signal to take him away.

_Sadly, this means that more future conflict with the Prophet of Pity is to come._

* * *

**November 7, 2547 ****[2214 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Officer Lounge, Installation 06.****  
**

**Rhine Dorhan...**

* * *

"Why here?" Hallas questioned Rhine in a puzzled voice as he took a seat on one of the couches.

_There's a simple reason why. _"I decided here so nobody will hear us."

"Why the cloak and daggers? And... Timmy can _still_ hear us." Hallas reminded Rhine.

Timmys' avatar suddenly appeared on the holo-tank by the entrance to the lounge "Yes, I can hear you. Now, mind telling me what all this secrecy is about?"

Hallas turned to face Rhine before he raised his eyebrows in a way that said "I told you so". _Yeah, yeah. _Rhine turned to face Timmys' avatar "Your loyalties are to ONI -not this crew. Remember this fact or I will make you remember." Rhine warned him.

"_What the hell_?" Hallas exclaimed "What _are_ you going on about?"

_Protocol. _Rhine let out a sigh "You really haven't put any thought into what I am about to say, have you?" Rhine asked Hallas with him shaking his head in reply "When we get back to Earth, Captain Jsarez is going to be _pretty pissed_ at ONI over a her brother being kidnapped and _forcefully conscripted_ into a military program where we _basically __brainwashed a bunch of kids into killing machines_."

Hallas widened his eyes when he figured out what Rhine was talking about "You want to kill her."

_Sadly... yeah... yeah I do. _"Hallas... it's not a case of want... I mean... _I _don't want to kill her... i- it's just that we need to follow protocol, we _need _to have her eliminated." Rhine elaborated.

Hallas leaned back into the couch and let out a sigh "You've got flaws, you know? _(I know) _First of all, there's the case that the entire ship now knows of Red being her brother."

_Let me explain. _"I doubt they know that Red was kid- _wait_... then again... they will come to the obvious conclusion easily."

"Yeah," Hallas agreed "And even with Timmys' help, you ain't going to kill the entire crew before they kill you."

_I'm not alone in this. _"And you. I doubt that they will discriminate." Rhine warned him.

Hallas shook his head "I'm not in for this; in-fact, I'm against this. _(Damn, I knew he would do this)_ Captain Courtney is a fine strategic commander. And I'm not about to stand idly by while she gets killed over ONIs' public image."

_Public image? It's more than that! _"The Insurrection is already bad enough. Do you seriously think that the press won't act?" Rhine asked him "Humanity will be torn inside-out over this!"

Hallas rolled his eyes at that "Then _tell that to the Captain_. Make her know of the consequences of letting any personal revenge agenda take control of her. Tell her _what you just told me_!"

_She's too stubborn for that! _"If we get back, we'll end this war. And do you think that a larger scale rebellion will matter to her once the Covenant are stopped?"

_Answer that. _Hallas let out a sigh "This argument is futile;_ I will __not let_ _you_ _kill_ _anyone_ aboard this ship."

_You're right: this argument is futile. _"Report me in then," Rhine opened his arms out as if saying "Come and have it." "But if you do, I will just inform HIGHCOM of your failure to act on protocol. And you could just tell the crew of what I just said, and they could then kill me. But they won't do anything to harm the only way home." Rhine turned and looked at Timmy who had so far been quiet.

Hallas looked at Timmy and narrowed his eyes "Would you do that?"

"Affirmative," Timmy nodded his holographic head "Although, it would be against what I want, I will do what is ordered of me by my superiors."

Hallas turned his head back around and let out a sigh. _He is letting his good moral judgment get in his way. _"I know what you're trying to do here, Hallas," Rhine went over and took a seat on the couch opposite to his "But a lot of innocent people _will die _if the SPARTAN II Program gets into the presses hands; we'll be doing the right thing."

Hallas let out a sigh of submit "We prepare, okay," Hallas finally gave in. _Yes. I didn't want to have to do this without a friend. _"But as soon as we can, we'll talk to the captain about this, and see if we can't change her mind. If she still refuses after we explain things to her... then we'll act -not before."

_Yes, yes, I agree. _"Yes. And thank you; I couldn't have done this alone." Rhine had to resist hugging Hallas.

"Don't talk to me like I'm your _friend_!" Hallas snapped "When you threaten to have me _basically killed_... I'll get pissed -as would any normal person."

_Damn it. _Rhine simply nodded as he redirected his eyes in shame and embarrassment. But thankfully, Timmy finally spoke "How do we proceed with this?"

_I figured that out earlier. _"We have more allies than you know," Rhine stated "There's Fireteam Night, for one. They are ONIs' lapdogs through and through. There's also the Marines that will take money over loyalty any day."

"I can go through each Marines' file and see who would be likely Candidate," Timmy concluded "see whom would be likely to accept this _"Bribe"_."_  
_

_Sounds like a plan. I just hope you have a keen eye. _"Agreed," Rhine nodded his head "But we'll go after Fireteam Black first; I know we can trust them."

Rhine then turned to Hallas who hadn't said a word since he agreed to go along with the "Mutiny" "Hallas..." Hallas turned to face him, but his eyes still didn't connect with his "If Captain Jsarez doesn't exit her 'state of pain' we won't be able to speak to her."

"_'If__'_" Hallas reminded Rhine.

_Yes... "If"..._

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to all my readers!**

**Wow! I managed to cook this chapter up in less than 10 hours! (At least, I think it was 10)  
I guess that's what you can do when you have an actual plot for the chapter figured out.  
And I still rechecked all my writing, as-well. But I found it easier rechecking my writing with each chapter, and not as a whole (All that rereading of what I just wrote can be tiresome)  
**

**Anywho, please tell me if you think perhaps I'm rushing this. I personally don't think I am. I just think that if I have the plot for the chapter figured out, and don't do anything rather than write a new chapter (Which I surprisingly enjoy!) I may be able to pump these out pretty fast.  
But, that's kinda not what I want. There's a line I want to make to keep this becoming Assassin's Creed. But I plan on getting back into Dark Souls 2 again (Gave it a bit of a break after my screaming got too loud) and I shall soon be a course which will divide my time a bit as-well.**

**Skae 'Kuzomee is based on ArmoredFury (He used a name generator to pick his name, lol! Who guessed there was Sangheili name generators?!)**

**No new followers yet, I feel sad, it's not like my last chapter has only been out for less than a day or anything... Bad, I know.**

**Please point out any lore mistakes or typos in a review or P.M. and please just review for the HellOfIt as-well!**

**********************************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, xX****Life'sAPopsicleXx, gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7, goldmonk, ArmoredFury, Mumble8, ultimate idiot, SpeedyNaomi, Hunter092, ShootingKill, hi ace50.**


	20. Chapter Nineteen: The Darkness Of Night

**[**** CHAPTER NINETEEN: THE DARKNESS OF NIGHT ]**

* * *

_The battle for Jericho VII was lost. The Covenant had begun glassing the planet. And although the planet was lightly populated, thousands of civilians died._

_I was there, in the midst of it. We saved as many lives as we could. And we were heroes._

_The idea of being a hero never entered the mind of a SPARTAN since we were trained for stealth ops and secrecy. But we knew that after the change of tactics of engagement when the Covenant arrived, many people would consider us heroes._

_And it wasn't as if it was a bad thing; I felt proud when I first entered the mess-hall of the Resolute, and all the crew members cheered at us, called us heroes, and the likes._

_Jorge liked the idea as much as me. But he hadn't spent a lot of time relishing in it since all he had done since we arrived on the Resolute was sat in one of the corners of the empty officers' lounge and snore as he slept._

_Red didn't care full-stop. He was acting similar to John, at the moment. John was on the observation deck watching the planet get glassed to remind himself of our failure to protect a planet that was doomed from the start._

_All Red did was sit on one of the bar stools and drink an alarming amount of water._

_I seated myself next to him, and monitored him. And he knew that I was monitoring him, making sure he was okay. Yet he made no move to indulge me, and reassure me that he was okay._

_Like John, Red was a great leader.. And like any good leader, he reflected on his recent failure -despite the fact that we saved thousands of civilians from certain death._

_There was no one in the lounge other than me, Red, and Jorge. And Jorge was asleep. And when there was just me and Red, he would open up to me with the best of his abilities. _

_I knew that I reflected the image of Reds' twin sister that he mentioned when we were kids. I knew... that even if he didn't care about the rest of his SPARTAN family... he cared about me._

_"Are you alright?" I finally asked him after he began pouring some water from a jug into his large glass __-for the twelfth time._

_"Negative." Red replied._

_Red was not stubborn: he would say when he was troubled or not feeling well. I found this to be one of his better traits._

_"Do you want to talk about what happened down there?" I asked him._

_He took a sip of water from his glass before responding "Irrelevant to engage in topic of recent mission."_

_It saddened me to hear him speak like this. Red was such a quiet kid, then he gradually became more and more "Machine like". It all went overboard when Red broke out of the base and ran to a nearby city where he killed a bunch of civilians. John hated him for that, everyone hated him for that. But not me. He always opened up to me, so I understood his motives._

_I let out a sigh and leaned over where I place my head on Reds' shoulder. He once found the physical affection I showed towards him uncomfortable. But he grew into it after he forgot about his sister, and replaced me with her. _

_I put my arms around his neck and held him tight; he was a troubled person, and I wanted to comfort him whenever he felt even more troubled._

_"Sheila," He finally said. It was one of those rare cases where he used my actual name. I lifted my head to look at him, he hadn't turned his head himself, and was just staring at nothing "We need to do better."_

_I agreed with him. _

_We all needed to do better..._

* * *

**November 8, 2547 ****[0412 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**********Unknown Location, Installation 06.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

_I will always protect you- Protect her from what? _

098 couldn't feel nor move any part of his body. He couldn't see, couldn't speak, couldn't even turn his head. All he knew was pain... and a voice in his head.

He was captured by the Flood; he made a mistake, and now... Humanity was going to pay the price.

_Protect her from what? Let us dwell deeper into the past to find the truth._

098s' vision suddenly came to life. He was in what looked like a school. He still couldn't speak nor move -the body he was in moved for him, making its' way towards the door to the school.

Suddenly, there was a scream, and the body 098 was in moved at full speed around the school to a small playground where a little girl was being hit by a large boy.

"LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE!" The person 098 was seeing through screamed in rage as he ran towards the large boy at full speed before landing a punch into his face.

"Owe!" The large boy cried in pain as he held his face.

"I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU TOUCH MY SISTER, _YOU BULLY!_" The person 098 was seeing through screamed at the large boy in rage before the boy went running towards the school building, crying as he ran.

The person 098 was seeing through then turned to the girl on the ground who was crying -the girl looked familiar.

The person 098 was seeing through offered the crying Girl a hand which she took before the person 098 was seeing through bought her into a hug "Are you okay, Nai? _(Nai?) _Don't worry, I won't let him hurt you again; he's just a big bully."

"He is _so mean!_" Nai cried.

"Don't worry," The person 098 was seeing through hugged the girl tighter "I'll always protect you."

_So sweet... so touching- __Disengage- You want me gone? I am but everywhere; you cannot ever be without me._

A loud chuckling sound rumbled through 098s' ears. _"Protect her"? __Where were you to protect her when this happened._

A scene suddenly came into play: A teenage girl was silently lying on a bed with another teenager male on top her, thrusting his bare hips his around hers. 098 didn't understand what he was seeing.

_I sense your confusion... She is being -what your type of food refer to as- "Raped". A sweet affair of going to a social interaction called a "Ball" ended in misery as she was impregnated at too young an age. But I understand you are confused as to how you are seeing something that you were never present for... I am all..._

Suddenly another scene came into 098s' mind as the girl who was being "Raped" was sitting on a chair with an older women that 098 thought he recognized sat on a chair with a desk separating the two. On the desk there was a Data-console, and various other meaningless objects surrounding it. There was also paintings on the walls with a large window showing the same playground that Nai was being beaten up in.

"Your parents say you 'were raped'..." The older women let out a chuckle "I say your just a _little_ _whore_."

"Says the cunt who was found in the supply room with Mr Teddisons'_ cock _in her mouth; I'm amazed as to how you _weren't fired_." The teenage girl retorted.

The older women let out a slight chuckle "That was love; you _fucked_ that boy out of blinding teenage instincts; you're a _slut_."

The teenage girl lifted her head to look at the older women "I guess you don't understand the concept of rape; I HAD _NO CHOICE_ IN WHAT HE DID TO ME!"

"If you were _'raped'_, then you're not _'the fighter'_ you always claimed to be," The older women scoffed.

The girl immediately jumped out of her chair and calmly walked out of the room with the older women screaming at her to come back.

_This is what the almighty Human race has developed to after the rings were set alight?... your race used to be with honor. Hmm... You are trying to work out who that older women was. _The voice let out a chuckle. _She has a long history with your sister._

Another scene appeared in 098s' vision; it was the same room he was just in, with the same women, and the same girl, but they were years younger.

"What was all that screaming about?" The women asked the girl who appeared to be Nai.

"I felt something bash into my stomach, Miss Christina." Nai replied with eyes to the floor, and her hands on her stomach. _Mendez._

"No, you're just being _naughty_; a... _'__little shit'_ is the proper word." The women named Christina falsely observed. _Why "falsely"? _

Nai began to cry "Why do you hate me, Miss?"

Christina let out a chuckle and rose from her seat "Because... _you're worth hating..._"

The scene quickly swooshed away, and 098 could only see black again. _This food defined your sisters' personality. You could not protect your sister from this food; your promise... a lie- __Irrelevant- No, you will hurt._

Another scene came into play with an older looking Nai sitting at a desk in what looked like her room. She was doing some type of paperwork when a boy came into her room "Courtney, I need your help with my homework." The boy said.

Nai turned to face the boy "Go away." She coldly told him.

The boy nodded, and left the room without protest.

The scene then faded to black. _That young food was you; she hated you. She did not feel any emotion for you; not even when you died. How does that make you feel- Irrelevant. Past events are always irrelevant._

098 heard a booming laughter again. _"Are always"? I'm beginning to break you...__  
_

Whatever the voice was, it got its' facts wrong.

098 could never be broken.

* * *

**November 8, 2547 ****[0609 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Officer Lounge, Installation 06.****  
**

**Rhine Dorhan...**

* * *

"Fireteam Night," Timmy mused "ONI was getting desperate."

Hallas cleared his throat from the couch across from Rhine that he was sitting in before grabbing his Data-pad out of his pocket and began reading from it "First candidate: Major Adam Franti -or, 'Night's Shadow'- He's in charge of all ODST forces aboard the _Kryptonite_, so that may give us leverage over some of the crew. As why he was convicted... he apparently _'cracked' _after he heard that his entire family was killed on Arcadia in 2531 -he was already an ODST- and after he _'cracked'_, he decided 'fuck it' and killed a bunch of ODSTs that had been annoying him and his team for months; it didn't help that these dip-shit ODSTs mocked his dead family."

_Well, with all the dip-shit ODSTs on this tub that he hasn't killed, perhaps I can feel reassured that he won't go nuts again. _"Go on." Rhine nodded for Hallas to continue.

Rhine recently decided to have Hallas tell him about Fireteam Night before they arrived in a few minutes. And Fireteam Night's origins is dark. ONI offered them new identities and a load of credits if they fought the Covenant. But they didn't just pick a bunch of convicts at random. These five convicts stuck together in the prison they were in; looking out for each other and the likes. They apparently formed a brotherhood in the prison. And the reports said they worked extremely well together to overcome the obstacles of the prison. They trusted each other, and would die for each other. ONI just couldn't resist such an effective team for spec op missions.

"Second candidate: First Lieutenant Rick Cylus -or, 'Night's Wing'-," Hallas continued "Rick's the second in command of the ODST forces aboard the _Kryptonite_, and the second in command of Fireteam Night. And his crimes revolve around assassinating the Governor of Crainstyrk in 2542."

_I heard about that; murderers of politics always get worse sentences than normal murderers. I hate stupid equality. _Hallas cleared his throat as he continued "Second Lieutenant Toless Morgan -or, 'Night's Angel'- Fireteam Night's designated marksmen, and third in command of the entire ODST force aboard this ship. He was convicted for crimes that are _a __bit messier_... he... _um_... _he_..." Hallas began scratching the back of his head and a disgusted looked appeared over his face "He had a _nasty habit_ of kidnapping models on Earth where he _raped them_ before killing them. He then _ate them_ while _masturbating_ to videos he took of him _raping_ _his victims_."

_Oh... damn... It's him... _Rhine tried to keep the disgust from appearing on his face.

"Forth..." Hallas continued "Sergeant Major Theodore Douglas -or 'Night's Rage'- He's Fireteam Night's scout. And as for why he was convicted... he's the killer of Tenstal; _need I say more?_"

_No. _Rhine shook his head with Hallas nodding in compliance before he began reading again. "Last -_but not least_: Gunnery Sergeant Ivan Roras -or 'Night's Ambition'- He's Night's heavy weapon specialist. And he was convicted for _molesting_ _over two hundred girls_.

_Damn it. _The thought of his own daughter being molested came into his mind and he quickly quelled the disgusting thought. _Wait, something doesn't add up. _"Wait, some of the crimes they committed don't warrant a death penalty." Rhine pointed out.

"Yeah," Hallas agreed before reading from his Data-pad again "The reason they almost faced the death penalty is because they were behind the engineering of a prison escape. Some guards got killed during the escape, and the press wouldn't discriminate over which ones killed who. The only reason they aren't dead is because ONI got interested in them."

_Desperate indeed. _Rhine let out a sigh and relaxed in his seat. And just on time, five ODSTs walked through the entrance.

Roras wasted no time, and hurried over to the bar where he immediately poured himself some wine from Reach. But the rest decided to "Play professional" and immediately seated themselves on the couches surrounding the coffee table.

There was an awkward silence as Rhine attempted to keep his eyes redirected from the eyes of the ODSTs. Thankfully, Hallas finally spoke up "We should probably get his over soon -before the Covenant decided they want their room back."

"We shouldn't have given the best room in this fucking tub to the damn aliens," Roras growled from where he was sitting "And if the damned Captain really had to give them this room, she could have at least gotten all the damn booze out -instead of leaving it for that _fucking Jackal_."

"Will you shut the fuck up?!" Franti snapped at Roras.

Adam Franti was different from the other ODSTs. It may had been to the fact that he already was a ODST before he was convicted. He had his hair shaven to near nothing, and had a full stubble across his face. He had a multitude of scars running across his face. But the most noteworthy one was the one that went across his left eye and nose. It was no energy blade scar, though. That was a knife scar. He also had various prison and ODST tattoos on his face. One of the worst was the tattoos of the names of the members of the Fireteam he murdered -likely some type of tribute -which was odd. Over-all, Franti looked like an angry man. And he was; he had good reasons to be after his entire family was killed on Arcadia.

"Why are we here?" Morgan finally questioned Rhine as Roras let out a growl at Frantis' aggression.

_At least someone is going straight to the point. _"I guess you already know about Sierra 098 being Captain Jsarezs' fraternal twin brother." Rhine began.

"Yeah," Douglas confirmed "and I thought conscripting convicts was as low as ONI could go."

Morgan let out a laugh at that. _I bet you laughed like that a lot when you were raping those poor models. _One of the models that was kidnapped by Morgan was a model that appeared in many films that Rhine liked. Judy Walker was one of Rhines' favorite actresses; hell, he watched her films when she was just a child actress.

"You... _okay_, _sir_?" Cylus asked Rhine, no worriment in his tone.

_Yeah, yeah. _Rhine simply nodded before removing the disgusted face he had.

"Continue already!" Franti snapped at him.

_Asshole. _"Since the entire crew knows about something that has the potential of bringing the UEG down, I decided it would be best to stage a mutiny-"

"Timmy's right back there, sir." Morgan calmly pointed out with Franti, Douglas, and Cylus turning their heads towards the entrance.

_Let me explain. _"Sadly," Timmy said before Rhine could say anything "Lieutenant Dorhan, and Doctor Day decided to utilize me on their mission to kill pretty much everyone on this ship."

"Hey!" Hallas snapped "I was dragged into this too!"

"You have a choice in the matter, Doctor." Timmy countered.

_Oh for Gods' sake. _"Enough," Rhine rolled his eyes in annoyance "We're going off topic."

Franti let out a chuckle "What even makes you think that we would help you in murdering the entire crew, sir? we're friends with half of them."

_I figured this out earlier. _"The crew doesn't know you are convicts, though; and I doubt they will like you as much as they do now if they knew what you _did_," Rhine stated "Anyway, you're part of ONI -not this crew. Remember your place or perhaps you'll just go back to that shit-hole that is your proper home."

Morgan let out a chuckle "Boys, the lieutenant here resents us."

Franti slammed his hand down onto the coffee table "You _resent us_?!" He snapped at Rhine coldly "You kidnapped a bunch of kids _(Not me, I had no part in that) _and turned them into killing machines! And now you want to murder this entire over ONIs' stupid _fucking public image_?! And you think _we're _despicable?!"

_Fucking moron. _"First of all: I had no part in the SPARTAN II Program," Rhine countered "And second: I'm only doing what's best for Humanity -not the UEG. Think 'bout it; thousands of people will die if the press decided to act against the UEG and ONI."

"We mightn't even have to kill the crew," Hallas added "If the Captain leaves her 'state of pain', we may be able to tell her this, and convince her not to do anything stupid."

_And it's not the "entire crew". _"And if not," Rhine added "a bunch of Marines on this ship would happily accept credits to assist in the mutiny and forget about what they heard about the SPARTAN II Program."

"Will we get credits?" Douglas asked Rhine.

_Hell yes!_ "Hell, I bet ONI will give you anything you ask for if you assist in preventing a larger scale Rebellion."

"Sounds good to me!" Roras drunkenly slurred.

"Yeah," Morgan agreed with a nod "I want my new I.D sooner rather than later."

"We're in." Franti announced before anyone else could.

_You didn't have a choice anyway. _Rhine decided to keep that though to himself.

"There's a problem, you know," Cylus stated before anyone could say anything else "you say your only going to kill those who don't accept this bribe. Let me say that I doubt the Command Crew will accept."

_Yeah, I figured that out. _"Timmy can pilot the _Kryptonite _himself," Rhine stated "But just in-case, we'll be taking the Command Crew captive before executing them when we get back to Earth."

"_Execute_ _our captives_?" Toless observed "Seems unnecessary."

_And you would care?_ "Fine, we won't. We'll just keep them captive until we get back to Earth; let HIGHCOM decide what to do with them."

"The Diverted are making their way here now." Timmy warned them.

_Damn it. We're gonna have to find another place to meet up. _"Come on, Night," Franti said as he pushed himself up from his chair "We'll continue this _scheming_ later."

_"Later"? no, we need to act sooner rather than "later". Perhaps while we're travelling in slipspace back to Ear- oh shit, what are we gonna do about the Monarch?_

* * *

**November 8, 2547 ****[0617 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Unknown Location, Installation 06.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

_You were designed and created out of hate and spite... You Hated Halsey; you spited her. And you created this "098" personality to spite her. But the jest was on you when you acting like a machine actually made you a machine. Amusing._

098 wanted to scream at the pain; he wanted it to stop. But there was no stop. Memory after Memory flooded his mind as he saw things that he shouldn't have been able to see, as he saw the pain he inflicted on his sister.

Another scene suddenly appeared into 098s' vision. It was Nai again. She was sitting in her living room -one that 098 had visited a lot thanks to the Gravemind. And sitting on a couch across from her was her parents. Nai looked to be 16 here.

"Abortion is a heavy decision," Her mother calmly stated "When I was a girl, I had the notion that if a women didn't want a child, they should use protection. But then my mum would then tell me that some women are raped. I then began to understand the concept of it. But, Courtney, you don't have to take a life; everyone is willing to help you raise the baby."

"But I don't want a child," Nai cried "I never have -_never_."

"Why?" Her dad asked her.

"Because I can't _feel_ happy without Red." Nai explained.

"This again?" Her father coldly asked her.

"_Yusaf!_" Her mother snapped at her father.

"Red's dead," Her father reminded her "You need to grow up, and move on."

"_He's not dead!_" Nai cried, tears falling out of her eyes "You don't listen to reason; _you never fucking have_. I know that Red is alive, _BUT YOU NEVER HAVE FUCKING LISTENED!_"

Nai wasted no time, and jumped off of the couch and ran back up the stairs to her room with her mother calling for her to come back.

_Humanity takes life in more ways than one. Your sister was a murderer before she even joined your "Navy"_

Another scene came into play. It was Nai sitting in Christinas' office again.

It didn't take long for 098 to figure out that Christina was the principle of the school Nai went to.

"Abortion?" Christina chuckled "You really are a little coward."

"Why am I here?" Nai questioned Christina in a cold tone.

"Because I wanted to indulge myself in your suffering," Christina replied with a chuckle as she got up from her seat and walked over to Nai "So, have your parents listened to you about me being the _'big, evil monster__'_?" Christina let out a chuckle "They will always believe the lovely teacher over the _violent_ little daughter any day."

Nai lifted her face up to face the teacher "I believe in Karma, you cocksucking cunt; you will get yours."

"_Watch_ your tongue!" Christina snapped at her "_You whore!_"

The scene changed. And 098 quickly realized that this was a memory, not a scene.

Red was in bed with his sister cuddled up to him.

"Nai?" The younger Red that 098 was seeing through asked Nai.

"Yeah?" Nai replied.

"I've decided that I won't let dad take me to the big city without you." The younger Red explained.

"Really?" She asked in excitement.

"Yes." The younger Red confirmed.

The memory faded as the booming of the Graveminds' laughter filled 098s' ear. _So sweet, so innocent. But every sweet and innocent being in the great Universe shall soon be but food and dust. Your sister will be the start of our grand conquest._

_The Flood, have returned._

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to anyone who has read this far!**

**I managed to pump this chapter out pretty fast. And I did go over it to make sure I made no typos or mistakes. But please tell me in a review if I made any typos or mistakes, and I will immediately fix them while also crediting you in the next chapter. Please also review telling me what you think. I will reply to your review if I think there's a reason to. So if you want me to reply to your review, please leave something creative -like a question or something. But please leave a review nonetheless because I read them all, and I enjoy reading them.**

**Hopefully it'll start getting sunny over where I am so I can begin playing Dark Souls 2 again. I know I can play it now, but the weather reflects a mood. And I really don't enjoy playing games while the weather is bleak. So in the meantime, I'll just keep working on this. **

**************************************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, xX****Life'sAPopsicleXx, gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7, goldmonk, ArmoredFury, Mumble8, ultimate idiot, SpeedyNaomi, Hunter092, ShootingKill, hi ace50.**


	21. Chapter Twenty: Echos

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: ****  
**I understand that the chapters are getting shorter, and that they focus on several characters at a time. I'm planning on changing it back so that the chapters will focus on a single POV character each chapter -except the special long chapters. But next chapter will still be of average length, and will have multiple POV characters. This is just to set in motion certain events. I'm also planning on having Courtney's POV next chapter which will show how she is thinking while she is in pain, as-well as some more back-story about how she met Lynda, and how she became Captain of the _Kryptonite_.

Now, read on!

* * *

**[ CHAPTER TWENTY: ECHOS ]**

* * *

_"Stay behind me, Doctor." I told doctor Halsey as several Elite Minors -led by a Major- approached them._

_"Sheila, you can't kill them all," The Doctor warned me, the sounds of the Covenant assault on Miridem was in my ears. Nobody other Human but me and the Doctor had survived the Covenants initial attack on the convoy escorting the Doctor to the excavation site "And they can't have me alive; kill us both, now!"_

_"I can beat them, Doctor." I reassured her. I wasn't going to die here. And I had a plan; kill these bastards, commandeer one of the vehicles transporting them, and get back to the city where EVAC would be._

_The Elite Major held its hand out to stop its Minors from engaging us "The Demon is mine." The Major said with my translation device telling me what it said._

_The Minors nodded in respect as the Major grabbed its' two energy swords sheathed on its thighs' MWHS. It was odd for an Elite to have two energy swords. But I put the thought side when the Major tossed me one of its' swords._

_I made no attempt to catch it, and it simply hit my chest plate before falling to the ground._

_The Major gritted its mandibles and let out a light hiss "Have honor; duel me."_

_Honor wasn't on my agenda, and I quickly raised my Assault Rifle and shot at it with it and its' Minors dodging out-of-the-way before the Major twisted around and leaped towards me._

_It bought its' hoof up and smashed it into my stomach. I staggered for a moment, but the Major was fast, and it grabbed my Assault Rifle and ripped it out of my hands. I was about to hit it since it was close, but I felt a large burning pain go through my chest._

_"Sheila!" The Doctor exclaimed._

_I looked down to see the Major had stabbed its' energy sword into my chest. I attempted to lift my arms to attack it, but the pain was too much. I fought for my life, but the Major ripped its energy sword out of my chest and swung it around before slicing through me._

_I spat blood all across my visor as I fell to the ground, desperately trying to cling onto my life._

_But I felt the life leaving me... I- I..._

* * *

**November 8, 2547 ****[0928 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Unknown Location, Installation 06.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

_Do you hate him for what he did to her? Do you hate him?- Personal emotions irrelevant.- I will make you hate him. But first, I must break you._

A scene suddenly appeared. It was outside the school on Harvest, Nai was 16, and she along with dozens of students and parents had gathered around to watch Christina -surrounded by Solicitors- converse with the teachers of the school -also surrounded by even more Solicitors.

"This is _absurd_." Christina scoffed.

"You're right,_ it is_." The lead teacher coldly agreed.

Nai had a smile on her face. But she wasn't behind what ever happened; this was on Christinas' own accord.

"Yeah, _it is_," Christina scoffed "and I'm going to _sue _this shit-hole to the ground over this crap; I said I would change, _and I will_."

The teachers began to laugh "You said that when we found _you_ and Mr Teddison in the supply room," The lead teacher countered "But nothing changed? _Did it_? You were preforming these _disgusting acts _in a _school_! We should have fired you after the first incident; not risk being sued by a hundred angry parents."

Christina spat in the lead teachers' face with the crowd of people and some teachers and Solicitors letting out exclaims and grunts of disgust.

The lead teacher calmly wiped the spit away "You know, it's people like you that reminds me the Universe is an evil place. _But I will never allow anyone to inflict that evil on these kids why they still have time for their innocence_."

"Let's go." One of the Solicitors with Christina said with Christina letting out a scoff before turning around and making her way to the Solicitors vehicle.

"She really is disgusting," Nais' mother -who 098 just noticed- remarked before turning her head around to face Nai "Courtney, I'm _so, so __sorry_."

Tears began to appear in Nais' eyes, and she hurried towards her mother where she hit her mother across the face with the crowd letting out exclaims of shock "_The years_ I had to deal with that _bitch_ because _you wouldn't listen to me_. What _type _of mother do you call yourself?"

Tears appeared from Nais' mothers' eyes as she held the side of her red face. And all of a sudden, Nai landed another hard hit before calmly turning around and walking into the school with everyones' eyes on her.

_Civil conflict between families... if your pathetic races' politics are to this magnitude and beyond... your subjugation will be swift and severe- Negative. We will engage and eliminate you- you still breath words like that? After all you have witnessed of your sister... your false mental state has not broken to let through the stronger one. Perhaps... something more recent will inflict the anguish I desire onto your mentality. _

Another scene appeared. It was the Captains' quarters of a _Charon_-class light frigate. Nai was the age she was at the current time, and she was on her bed crying.

"_He-he-he doesn't lov-love me,_" The Captain cried to herself "_He-h-he doesn't lo-love me-me._"_  
_

"Captain," Timmys' avatar appeared on a holo-tank by the sealed door "Lieutenant Colonel Keyes is worried. And I can't say this from personal experience, but it's always better to cry with your best friend by your side."

The Captain let out a sniff and raised her head "_Okay,_ se-send for h-her."

098 noticed the Captains' hands were twitching uncontrollably.

"No need," Timmy replied "She's right outside your quarters, and she wasn't going to take no for an answer anyway. She just told me to ask you so she knew what type of mind you were in."

Timmys' avatar disappeared, and the Captain couldn't help but smile at Keyes' actions as the door opened with a hiss, and Keyes walked in and sat herself next to the Captain on her bed.

"Don't _ever _assume that I'll never be here for you," Keyes hugged the Captain "You should had called for me earlier."

The Captain let out a sniff before she began crying again "_This isn't like any other time, Lynda. I can- I can't handle this; I-I-I-I can't do this shit anymore._"

Keyes pulled the Captain closer and began to hold her closely as the Captain cried heavily "You're stronger than any of us on this ship; you _can _hold on," Keyes reassured the Captain as she held her tightly in a hug "And whether Red likes it or not... he _will _come around; no matter what ONI did to him, nothing will break that bond that you have always talked about."

_Irrelevant, irrelevant, irrelevant- You are beginning to panic... you do not want to see what you have done to her... you do not want to face the truth... the dark deep truth that you are false... you were never meant to created- Negative. Personal feelings irrelevant- Why? It is not a fact that you cannot defeat your foes while you have true emotions... It is the fact that you do not want to go back; you do not want to remember... Ah! But you do want to remember! Deep down you want to remember. But this... mental state is forbidding you from remembering...-Negative. Personal feelings are irrelevant- "Are"? You are breaking... your rhythm of speech is disintegrating. I only need to enact on one final effort to obliterate your false characteristics. _

Scenes and images began to appear and disappear out of nowhere. Each scene and image lasted for only a moment, but 098 could see everything, could understand everything.

Nai was in constant pain... She gave up everything because of 098... her child, her love, her relationship, her friends... her life. She had suicidal thoughts regularly, and she hated everyone and everything because of her pain.

But now memories began to appear. And 098 saw his life before the SPARTAN II Program... he saw that he was a happy, energetic child. But he was quiet and shy... but he had Nai... Red had Nai.

_I'LL KILL HER! I'LL KILL HER! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY! ______HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! HALSEY! __HALSEY! HALSEY!________________________  
_

Red could see again. He was a large circular chamber that was lit up by lights coming off of the engraved Forerunner walls and pillars. But in the middle of the chamber, there was a single light... the Index. Red was right near the Index; it was right there.

He still couldn't move any inch of his body. But he saw out of the side of his vision that there was Flood slime and sacks along with various other hive material going up behind him. And it didn't take Red long to figure out that he was being held up into a wall of Flood slime and matter by _slime_ and _matter_. And that Flood wall of _slime_ and _matter_ was the Gravemind.

_Alas! I have broken you!- I will not inform you of Earths' location- Fool! Have you not already learned? I know all that there has been, or is!_

More images flashed through Reds' mind. Everything that _had _happened and _was _happening came into his mind. No matter where in the Universe, Red could see it as clearly as day.

He could see that his SPARTAN brother and sisters were currently fighting on a planet, he saw the UNSC _Spirit of Fire _drifting in space, he saw Jorge quietly sit by himself as he mourned for Reds' disappearance and possible death, he saw the locations of each Covenant home-world, he saw the size of the Covenant fleets, and so, _so _much more.

Such abilities to see what Red was seeing should be impossible. But Red also saw what type of machinery the Gravemind had integrated itself with. And it wasn't all Forerunner machinery. There was an advanced alien artifact -more advanced than anything the Forerunners had created. And Red knew -through the Gravemind- what it was... Precursors...

_Now do you see the truth? The truth behind everything?- Affirmative. It's... It... I will engage and defeat you; I won't let you destroy us as you did the Forerunners- You believe you can defeat us? The Forerunners were a numerous race with advanced technology, and they stood together. Humanity is not numerous, with primitive technology, and they do not stand together. And to make matters against your already faulting odds, I can witness any plan to stop us designed and set in motion. I will learn, adapt, and rip the Universe asunder with minimal effort._

That all too familiar pain was still there. Red felt like he only knew the agonizing pain that seeped through his body. He wanted it to stop, he wanted to cry; not for himself, but for Nai.

_Do you want to know of this "Christinas'" fate?- Affirmative- she died of natural Human weaknesses but a mere two cycles ago.- She managed to escape the Covenant?- Yes. She proceeded to live against her pathetic limitations. And she proceeded to survive on Erde-Tyrene until she passed away from her pathetic life- Good.- You have hatred? Of course! I shall make you hate him- No need... Personal feelings and emotions are now relevant..._

_I already hate him..._

* * *

**November 8, 2547 ****[0934 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Officer Lounge, Installation 06.****  
**

**Thel 'Lodam...**

* * *

Thel hated these stupid gatherings.

Everyone and everything was here. Thel, his men, the Human leaders, the Monitor, and the Monarch. And the future was about to be decided. But it wouldn't be decided when the Humans would not stop arguing among themselves.

The Humans were arguing about how they would escape, what would happen to the Demon and their Captain, what will happen once they got back to Earth. It was odd as to how very few of them realized that the answer would reveal itself if they would be silent.

Thel kept his arms crossed over his chest in annoyance. Anve, Freyn, and Suras were at his side, and Kri and the Unggoy were over at the Human "bar", watching the Humans argue in amusement.

_This is ridiculous. _"SILENCE!" Thel finally parted his mandibles and roared as loud as he could.

Everyone immediately stopped and looked at him. _This arguing explains a lot. _"No wonder we are winning this false war when all you do is argue among yourselves like fools," Thel hissed through his gritted mandibles "Now, shut up and let the Monarch and the Monitor speak."

Nobody decided to continue, and they all remained silent as they turned to look at the floating orbs.

The Monarch decided to begin first "A popular argument I have had the displeasure of hearing _(Good, it is blunt about its' annoyance as-well) _is argument about who is now in command of this ship when the Captain is in her 'state of pain'. And from what I have researched by hacking into your Data-streams, the Reclaimer designated: Commander Juan Cortez should take command. But I also understand that there is an agent belonging to the Reclaimers' intelligence and secret services known as ONI. And that agent has the authority to take command of this ship and its' Reclaimer crew if the designated Reclaimer needs to."

"I see no reason why I must take command," The Human named Rhine stated "So that means Commander Cortez is know the Commanding Officer of the UNSC _Kryptonite_."

Thel had to clicked his mandibles in annoyance at this topic "Now that this argument is cleared through, can we get back to the topic of leaving this dreaded ring and ending the fake war?"

"Yes," The Monitor said this time "I have engaged in designing a plan to assist the Reclaimers in their priority task. The plan will also destroy the Flood on this Installation... along with this Installation itself."

Thel cocked his head in puzzlement. _Curious... Halos' destruction is a priority as much as stopping the fake war.__  
_

"How?" The Human named Lynda questioned the Monitor in a curious tone. _Be silent and it shall reveal its' plan! You Humans are so foolish! _Thel simply rolled his eyes, and thanked the fact that he wore his helmet so no-one nor nothing could see his displeasure and annoyance.

"Allow me to elaborate, Reclaimer," The Monitor began "The quarantine zone around the Library has failed; Flood forces are spreading across this Installation at an alarming rate. But in-case the Flood contained on this Installation escapes from their designated containment facilities, and all other protocols fail, one final fail-safe remains. Upon my activation, a gravity well device build into this systems' artificial sun will pull this Installation into the designated artificial sun, effectively destroying all life forms on this Installation."

"I assume we ain't gonna be here when that happens?" Lynda questioned the Monitor.

_Of course we will not be here; let it finish. _"Of course not, Reclaimer," The Monitor reassured them "I still have engaged in designing a plan to assist you, Reclaimers. After I have finished briefing you on my plan, I shall make haste to use the Seer on your ship, Reclaimers. Once I have confirmed that your ship is devoid of Flood Spores, of Forms, I shall lower the anti-gravity well for ten minutes _(Moments) _for you to leave this Installation."

"What about the Covenant ships?" Lynda questioned the Monitor. _Let it finish, damn it. _"The ships on the ring will try to escape once the well is deactivated, and the ships in space will engage us once we leave Halos' atmosphere."

"Allow me to finish, Reclaimer," The Monitor replied. _Yes, allow it. _"Now, I will activate this Installations' defensive weapons grid, which will effectively destroy all Meddler ships outside this Installations' atmosphere. _(Gods blood! All the blinded that shall fall over this! This cannot be the only way!)_ And if any Meddler ships attempt to leave this Installation when the anti-gravity well is deactivated, they will be engaged and destroyed by the this Installations' defensive weapons grid as-well -thus eliminating any potential for them escaping with Flood Spores or Forms aboard their ships. _(They will die anyway)_."_  
_

There was no other way, so Thel decided not to protest. His men must had figured this out as-well, for they did not protest. But Thel could still see them uncomfortable over the idea; he would be sure to reassure them at a later time.

"Once your ten minutes _(Moments) _are up, the anti-gravity well will be reactivated, and this I shall initiate the fail-safe protocol."

"Are you staying on the ring?" Juan asked the Monitor in a concerned tone.

_A valid_ _point_. "No, Reclaimer," The Monitor reassured them "I can control both the fail-safe protocol, and the anti-gravity well through a network grid. I will leave this Installations' atmosphere once the anti-gravity well is deactivated before I initiate the fail-safe protocols."

"What about after that?" Juan asked the Monitor. _Another valid point. _"Will you be stuck in this system or something?"

"I have the function to traverse through the denial of locale _(The Void)_ if protocol dictates it. Once this Installation is destroyed, I shall return to the Ark to oversee the construction of a new Installation 06."

_A new one? "Another one?_" Lynda questioned the Monitor in an alarmed tone "What if the Covenant come across this ring again?"

"Fear not, Reclaimer," The Monitor reassured them "As soon as the new Installation 06 -designated: Installation 06B- is in position, I shall activate this Installations' defensive weapons grid and anti-gravity well to prevent any Meddlers from making physical contact with this Installation again -unless the Reclaimers dictate otherwise."

"Be it a sin on me to interrupt," The Human called Wade -that Thel disliked due to it always watching him and his men- broke in "but I believe it necessary to redirect this briefing to the topic on how the _Kryptonite _will leave the all-service tunnel without being engaged and destroyed by the Covenant ships that are without a doubt waiting outside the sealed entrance for us."

_At least it is smart. And it has a welcomed advanced vocabulary. _"I can confirm that the Meddlers have some of their ships waiting outside the nearby exit to this all-service tunnel," The Monitor began "And there is no room for your designated ship to turn around, anyway. So I deemed it required for your designated ship to continue down the all-service tunnel until your designated ship reaches another designated exit to the all-service tunnels -a exit that shall be safe from the Meddlers' ships. But there is a flaw with this objective: the size of your designated ship will slow the process of moving through the tunnel to a safe designated exit from the average time of seven hours, twenty minutes, and nineteen seconds to two days, two hours, forty-eight minutes, and forteen seconds."

_That is a long time... and there will be many unneeded casualties in that time. _"That's too long," Lynda grunted in annoyance "can't you just have your 'defensive weapons grid' _thingy_ destroy the ships outside the entrance up there?"

_I already understand the Monitors' inevitable answer _"Impossible, Reclaimer," The Monitor replied. _As I theorized. _"I am 100 percent certain that the rubble from the ships will damage the designated entrance to the all-service tunnels. And this designated ship is too large to turn about; you have no choice but to continue to a junction, Reclaimers, which is the designated location you must proceed to."

"Wait," Anve broke in with a click of his mandibles in unison "what of the portal the Demon arrived to this ring by?"

_A topic that has not been brought up yet. How could we go so long with no mention of this?_

"Damn," Lynda muttered "why the hell is this being brought up _now_?" _Exactly._

"The portals' activation was not within my control," The Monitor began "But I can deactivate the portal if protocol dictates it. And I have deactivated the portal via widespread containment protocol -only to be followed if the Flood break out of the quarantine zone- 6 hours, 9 minutes, and 24 seconds ago -and counting.

"No possible escape for the Fleet-Master," Anve rubbed his lower mandibles. _So that is why this question was bought to light. _"he does not deserve his inevitable fate; no member of the Covenant -other than the Jiralhanae and Pity- deserve to die not knowing the truth."

Thel calmly walked over to Anve and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder "Brother," Thel began "the risks for trying to warn the Fleet-Master are to great to risk the possible only chance we have to stop this fake war; many more of the blind will die unless these sacrifices are made."

Anve lightly nodded his head in sadness.

When no one else spoke, Juan clapped its hands together in conclusion "So, you scan us with the Seer, we continue down the tunnel until we come across _this_ _exit_, we leave the tunnel once you deactivate the anti-gravity well, we leave the atmosphere and watch as this shit-hole is burned to Oblivion, and we then enter random slipspace vectors, arrive at those vectors, then head back to Earth with the Monarch and the Diverted. We get back, and we end the war -easy."

_If you have just jinxed it, I shall personally tear you apart..._

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** My heartfelt thanks go out to my readers.**

**The weather where I live is terrible. And when the weather is terrible, I don't enjoy in really doing anything which revolves around immersing myself in a game. So, until the weather clears up, all I'll be doing is working on this FanFic. Must be preparing for Spring (It's nearing the end of Winter where I live. No White Walkers so far; so I say this Winter isn't the worst there ever was)**

**Please point out any typos or mistakes in a review. And please just review for the hell of it as-well!**

******************************************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, xX****Life'sAPopsicleXx, gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7, goldmonk, ArmoredFury, Mumble8, ultimate idiot, SpeedyNaomi, Hunter092, ShootingKill, hi ace50.**


	22. Chapter Twenty-One: The Pain Of Memories

**AUTHOR'S** **NOTE:**

I fixed Sheilas' SPARTAN tag from 040 to 065. Apparently her tag was 065. I didn't know her tag was ever mentioned. And the wiki I used to research on her didn't tell me her tag, while another wiki "Halopedia" told me everything after researching on Luro 'Taralumee some more brought me across her page.

I also updated my recent chapter of a small mistake (That I doubt any of you would have read do to the speed of me acting on it) which made Sheila on the EVAC shuttle Halsey was on, during her showdown with Thel 'Lodamee. I changed it so they showed down on the surface of Miridem itself (Which is more consistent with the lore)

Finally: decided to try another way of doing paragraphs. And I think this way adds more detail into what the characters are doing. I plan on one-day going through all my previous chapters and updating it for any future newcomers. But right now, I'm going forward. I like to think of this chapter as a return to quality after the small and (In my opinion) quickly paced last few chapters. I hope the last few chapters didn't drive anyone away. And I thank anyone who has decided to stick around.

Now, get reading!

* * *

**[ CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: THE PAIN OF MEMORIES ]**

* * *

_"COMMANDER, YOU FOOL! A THOUSAND HELLS AWAIT YOU!" I roared as loud as I could as I was pulled back into the Resplendent Fervor, the Demon and essential Human watching me as I disappeared_.

_I almost had him! I almost killed the Demon! I almost killed the greatest threat to the Covenant! I almost avenged thousands to had died by the Demons' hands! But that fool! That fool, Luro 'Taralumee prevented me! I would die for this! I would die for his damned mistakes and lose my spot on the Great Journey!_

_The gravity lift doors closed beneath me, and I dropped to the floor and landed on my armored hands and knees before I pushed myself back up to my hoofs. Surrounding me was at least a dozen Sangheili Minors backed by two dozen Unggoy of various ranks and a few Kig-Yar -no doubt the Supreme Commander wanted me to report to him and sent them to retrieve me. __I simply hissed through my gritted mandibles, ignored the retrieval team, and calmly -but quickly- made my way through the gravity lift bays' doors with them hissing open before I continued into the main corridor heading straight to the bridge._

_The bright blue lights of the corridor shone into my eyes, the purple curving walls guiding my way, and the retrieval team was right behind me. But there was also that odd sensation... We were traversing the Void. __The Supreme Commander had retreated... We may still had a possibility of killing the Demon and the essential Human -that I knew would had survived. This may had been a good event, though. The Supreme Commander retreating was what caused my failure. Perhaps I might had been able to save myself from punishment. I did not matter what I had to do... I vowed to myself that I would not die over the Supreme Commanders' actions._

_The retrieval team were whispering and muttering about my possible deeds._

_"He kill Demon bravely." One Unggoy said._

_"The Major will have regained his honor with his expected victory." A Sangheili also said. _

_"The Demon is -as sure as the Great Journey- burning in Oblivion." Another Sangheili said._

_I wanted to yell at their ignorance. But I held it in. It was not that I wanted to maintain my image of being calm, but because I understood their ignorance was due to their young age, and their inexperience. But what would they say about me if they knew the truth? I knew I would soon know. _

_It did not take long for me to reach the bridges' doors, and for them to hiss open to have me enter the bridge. I hated being on the bridge; there was a certain Sangheili operative that had an annoying voice that made him sound pathetic._

_The Supreme Commander must had heard the door hissing open for he quickly turned his command chair around before rising from it "Did you kill the Demons?" The Supreme Commander clicked his mandibles in question, going straight to the point -much to my annoyance, and __I had to resist bursting into a rage "No." I shook my head in reply._

_The Supreme Commander growled through his gritted mandibles "Ran again, did you? You really do lack the heart to die with honor." I had to hold in a chuckle upon hearing the Supreme Commanders' words. I just simply hissed back "The Demon only lives because of your __impatience __and your cowardice.__" I lightly hissed at him._

_The Supreme Commander twitched and clicked is mandibles in a puzzled way as he narrowed his eye ridges in confusion at me before finally responding "Impatience? Cowardice?" He clicked his mandibles in question. And __I almost snapped my mandibles at him for his ignorance but calmed myself before replying with "You jumped into the Void at the first chance you had. And it is for this reason that the Demon survived. You will be executed for this."_

_"As will you!" The Supreme Commander snapped his mandibles at me, and I let out a light hiss in return before countering with "Then I shall die! But I will face the Eternal Darkness eagerly if I drag you down into the depths along with me. And you shall drag the surviving crew of this ship after you."_

_One of the pilots turned his chair around to face us before asking "What do you speak of?"_

_The Supreme Commander snapped his head around to face the one who spoke out, and snapped his mandibles aggressively before hissing in reply "Silence!" This proved to be to no effect as the rest of the pilots began to turn their seats around to face the commotion "Are we to lose our place along the path?" Another pilot clicked his mandibles in question before twitching them in a worried way. _

_"Yes," I quickly confirmed with a click of my mandibles "for the Supreme Commander would sooner drag you to execution along with him then own up for his sins."_

_A pilot barged out of his seat and snapped his head around to face the Supreme Commander "You will have honor!" The Pilot roared in rage at the Supreme Commander "We will not die over you!" _

_It was then that I realized I had the pilots and crew on my side. And I made haste to strengthen my influence "Brothers, when the time comes, stand against him before the council; you may survive execution."_

_The pilots all jumped out of their seats in unison, and were about to act in apprehending the Supreme Commander when the Supreme Commander drew and activated his energy sword "Stand down!" He roared as I lowered my hand to my sword on my thigh "STAND DOWN!" I wasted no more time, and immediately and quickly drew my energy sword and bought it up into the air before bringing it down before the Supreme Commander could act, swiping off his armed hand, sending his hand and his sword to the cold, purple floor with blood spilling over the floor, and the Supreme Commander roaring in pain as he grasped his bloodied stump._

_The Supreme Commander fell to the ground in pain, and I brought my hoof up into his rib, flipping him over to his back with a roar of pain leaving his gritted mandibles. And I hissed at his weakness "A knife? or a doctor?" I hissed in question at him. And he roared "DOCTOR!" In reply. And I knew that he lacked what all true Sangheili had... honor._

_I may had lost my honor. But I promised myself that I would regain it no matter what I had to do._

* * *

**November 8, 2547 ****[1002 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Outside UNSC _Kryptonite's _Medical bay, Installation 06.****  
**

**Thel 'Lodam...**

* * *

Thel knew sound could tell a person how much pain someone or something was in. And there was no difference with the Human Ship-Mistress.

Thel had killed hundreds of Humans. But no amount of dying screams nor pained screams could ever add up together to outdo the screams of the Human Ship-Mistress. They were pains of deep, agonizing torture. And not even the Humans deserved such pain that Thel imagined was being inflicted upon the Demon -and somehow was also being inflicted onto the Human Ship-Mistress.

The doors to the medical bay hissed open, and Lynda calmly walked out with the screams of her Ship-Mistress coming from behind her. Thel could see a hint of a tear in the Lyndas' eyes.

The doors hissed as they sealed again, and Thel snaked his head around to face the Human called 'White' who was standing next to Thel, and had also escorted Thel here without telling him what he desired "What is the reason of my presence here?" Thel clicked his mandibles in question at White with White turning its' head around to face him before turning its' head back around to face Lynda a moment later. And it was Lynda who answered "White doesn't know himself; I just told him to fetch you. As to why you're here: we need your help."

(_How ironic)_ "I have only agreed to help you in ending this fake war -which benefits both of our kin," Thel calmly clicked his mandibles in reminder "But I have no intention on assisting you further -unless it is required for surviving on this ring, or helping you in ending this war." Lynda had a defeated look appear across her ugly Human face "This is _personal_."

(_Then I shall not help you)_ "I do not care." Thel clicked his mandibles in an indifferent reply with him about to turn around to walk away when Lynda halted him with its' words "Ever heard of the term 'a favor for a favor'?" She asked Thel with him cocking his head in puzzlement. (_I am not familiarized with Human terms)_ "No." Thel shook his head in reply with Lynda beginning to pace as she began to explain

"_I can't_ _believe I have to explain this_," Lynda chuckled. (_Get to the point) _Lynda then continued after a moment "You do a favor for me, and I'll do a favor for _you_ in return."

Upon hearing this, Thel let out a light chuckle. (_I have no task or objective that I cannot complete myself)_ "I have no reason to have someone or _something_ do a favor for me." Thel informed Lynda with it ending its' pacing and turning its' head to look at Thel before it opened her mouth to speak "We _really_ need your help."

This took Thel aback. (_Perhaps I should heed what this female speak. It could be what I believe it is)_ Thel nodded for her to continue with a small grin appearing at the side of its' small mouth before it began pacing again

"What medical supplies we have aren't effective enough at easing the Captains' pain," Lynda began with it gesturing with its' hands as it explained "But the Huragok -through translation by the Monarch- has informed us of a plant that will ease her pain. _(So why do you need my help?) _The Monarch itself has confirmed that this plant was used by the Forerunners to combat pain inflicted by the Flood taking control of someone. _(Because the could not simply kill that someone; they had to attempt to save him. I theorize that this did not help with stopping the Flood)_ Now, we _can_ go get this plant _ourselves_... (But?) but your Elite _(Sangheili) _buddies were overheard by Timmy talking about a Sangheili Spec Ops team that will likely track us if we leave the all-service tunnels. And we'll need _your _help in fighting against i- him if we come into contact with him."

Thel nodded in understanding at what Lynda had said. _(Qrs 'Jaragsai. He will most certainly come after you. And there is zero chance that you will survive the encounter. But me, Anve, Freyn, and Suras -with our reinforced energy shields- may be able to defeat Qrs and his team if I cannot convince them of the Prophets' lies)_ Thel began to pace -with White moving out-of-the-way so he could pace- once Lynda had stopped pacing. And once Thel had began pacing, he cocked his head down in-front of himself to muse as he prepared to speak _(They were smart to seek my help) _

"I shall help," Thel announced with him seeing a grin of success appearing on Lyndas' face out of the corner of his eye, but Thel quickly stopped pacing and turned around to raise his hand for her to let him continue "but only because the contacting of Qrs may come out of this -which is a great desire of mine." He concluded with Lynda letting out a breath of relief before she raised her head to look at Thel "If you do require something, _anything_... just tell me, _okay_?" She told him with Thel nodding his head in acknowledgement. _(Though, I do not believe such an event will take place where I will need your help)_

With Thels' mind made up, he was about to turn around and leave when White spoke up "Ma'am, requesting permission to take command of Fireteam Wreckage and lead this mission." Thel cocked his head down to his side to look at White who was staring into the distance and standing to attention.

Lynda replied with "Request granted." And White nodded in acknowledgement before turning his body around and making his way down the corridor. _(I have questions I have means to bring up with that one) _Thel cocked his head around to watch White make his way down the corridor before deciding to follow the Human.

The Human ship architecture was very primitive compared to Covenant ship architecture. The pumps, wires, and tubes that made the ship run and transfer power throughout the ship was visible through the strange metal walls. The floor was also very strange, with grating covering the floor; and visible through the grating was more pipes and machinery that made the ship run. And the machinery under the floor was also accessible via service stars that came off to the side of the walkway that served as the corridors' floor. But there was a lot of room required for the staircase, and hence there was a large gap between the walkway and the wall. And to make sure that no-one fell down that gap, the Humans decided to put railings at the edge of the walkway where the gap began.

Thel finished observing the primitive design, and noticed that he had caught up to White with the Human turning its' head when it heard Thel approach it before turning its' head back around once it knew who was following it with Thel positioning himself to the Humans' side, and they both continued walk for a moment until Thel slightly parted his mandibles to speak "We were not informed of the time this mission shall take place."

White did not bother turning his head, and simply continued walking down the corridor with Thel as it opened its' mouth to speak "I'm not sure how your mission planning goes, but ours' is complicated to some extend." _(Do__ tell_)Thel nodded his head in understanding just as they turned around a corner and continued down the corridor with White continuing "Colonel Keyes will likely have to discuss the mission plan with Timmy and the other COs before she has Timmy inform us on the set time for the mission; that's at least what usually happens... things can change, ya know."

_(I do know change... more than you will ever comprehend the word)_ Thel did not speak his mind, and simply nodded in acknowledgement as they went around another corner. _(I am curious as to why you decided to lead the mission yourself) _Thel slightly parted his mandibles to speak again "Did you ask to lead this mission on a personal side?"

White did not respond for a moment, but he eventually did -much to Thels' relief "The Captain's done a lot for us..." White began "and she'll never ask for anything in return. But it doesn't hurt to return the gratitude every now and again -and that's what I'm doing here. And I think Colonel Keyes knows this..." They turned round another corner as White continued "that's why she agreed to my request; that, or she doesn't trust anyone else to handle such a delicate task."

_(I cannot believe I am going to ask it this) _Thel clicked his mandibles in annoyance at himself as he cocked his head to look at White as they continued walking "Does the 'lieutenant Colonel' care for your Ship-Mistress?" Thel clicked his mandibles in question. _(Why am I bothered by this? I care not for the Humans) _

White slightly turned its' head to peer at Thel in puzzlement before turning it back around straight and opening its' mouth to speak "Keyes is the Captains' closest and only friend. _(No, no. I do not care) _I envy their relationship-"Thel quickly interrupted White "Enough! I am traversing on a ground that I do not desire to." Thel turned off at a junction in the corridors and made his way to the lounge with White saying "_Okay..._" in a confused tone as Thel distanced himself.

Thel continued down the corridor until he came to another junction with two Humans talking who stopped talking and watched Thel as he made a turn down another corridor that led to the lounge the rest of the Diverted were gathered at. _(That was foolish of me. I do not care for the Humans' miserable existence. That Human had better not mention of my false curiosity)_

Thel shook his head as he continued down the corridor and arrived at the entrance to the lounge. Thankfully, there were no doors blocking off the lounge to the corridors. So Thel could just enter the room without waiting. Which he did and to have Freyn, Suras, Kri, and half the Unggoy turn to see who they heard enter and quickly turned their attention back to what they were doing once they knew who they had heard.

Thel nodded in greeting to those who were still looking at him as he made his way to one of the Human wide-seats and seated himself next to Freyn who was modifying his carbine with some enhancements the Huragok gave him.

Freyn was doing a lot better since it seemed that his arm was healed for he no longer had it wrapped up along his chest. Thel would make sure that injuries like this wouldn't happen again. And he started with making the Huragok reinforce their shields with some modifying. And Thel had tested it: the shields would survive against three to four blasts from a Human "Shotgun" before they would fail. And the Huragok still claimed -through the Monarchs' translations- that it could do better with the right resources.

"Why did they call you away, brother?" Anve finally clicked his mandibles in question at Thel with Thel cocking his head around to face Anve who was leaning in a corner to the left of the large window, next to the Human bar. Thel clicked his mandibles in reply "They require our help."

Anve chuckled upon hearing this "I assume your reply was less than-" Thel quickly interrupted him _(Forgive me for the disappointment I am about to inflict)_ "I accepted their request, brother." Thel clicked his mandibles in explanation with Freyn, Suras, and Kri now snapping their heads around to face Thel in attention. And Thel wasted no time in explaining "They believe that Qrs 'Jaragsai may track them once they leave the tunnels to go after a herb that will help their pain stricken Captain," Thel explained "and they want _our_ help in combating Qrs and his team if they go after them."

"This could be to our advantage." Suras observed with Thel cocking his head around to face Suras before replying "Very much so, brother. We may be able to save the Fleet-Master and the fleet from certain death."

"And the _Prophets' neck_ between out _grasp_ by the rotations' end." Freyn added with a hiss to have Thel cock his head around to face him only to see a grin being formed by his mandibles with Thel also seeing Anve and Suras grinning at the thought as-well out of the edge of his eyes.

_(Vengeance shall finally be ours) _Thels' Diverted may not be able to see it because of Thels' helmet, but Thel was finally forming his mandibles into a smile for the first time in a long, long while.

Thel was happy.

* * *

**November 8, 2547 ****[1012 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Medical bay, Installation 06.****  
**

**Courtney Jsarez...**

* * *

Pain was all Courtney currently knew... and it felt like it was all she ever knew.

A deep, sharp, agonizing pain went through her body. She felt like her bones were being crushed to smithereens, every inch of her body being torn apart, a fire burning near on her organs, her body being put through a saw, her limbs being contorted to impossible angles, and -worse of all- a million nukes going off in her head. It was all the pain a person could feel in one single attack... an attack on the mind and nerves.

All Courtney did in response was scream, cry, and coil her body up into a fetus like position. And all the Morphine and/or painkillers the medics and doctors gave her didn't ease the pain. And it didn't seem like anything ever would.

Courtney desperately tried to shift her focus off the pain. But nothing would work. But there was one thing that eased the pain to some extent. And that was memory. She kept remembering each and every member of her crew, their personalities, their flaws. And it relieved her -if only slightly- to think about those she would die for.

Second Lieutenant George Parker. He was a typical Marine. But he was normally very quiet. That was until the Monarch had told them about the Covenant and their _'mistake' _where he immediately broke down and began crying in-front of everyone at the meeting. He was one of the survivors of the first contact with the Covenant on _Harvest_. And he had fought for so long, and lost so much during the war. And hearing this news made him less quiet and more angry. But he was loyal. Courtney remembered when she felt that pain go across her chest -that Red received from a Zealot energy sword moments before he went through the portal- and where Parker ran to her and carried her to the medic bay while reassuring her that she'd be alright.

Through all the pain, Courtney smiled at the memory.

Then there was Major Adam Franti. He was a beast of a man, large, strong, and handsome. But he was aggressive, always yelling at his team members, always being aggressive to them. He was also aggressive to others. But when it came to missions, the aggressive side of Adam was nowhere to be seen. And he was calm, loyal, cooperative, and effective. He was one of the best ODSTs Courtney knew. And despite is aggressive nature that must of originated from the black ink on his file, he was a loyal soldier. And so was the rest of Fireteam Night.

She also remembered Sergeant Major Wade Tulnai. He was deadly quiet. And his voice was devoid of emotion. Courtney remembered the briefings she would give to Fireteam Absolute, and how Wade would just stand silently in a corner and only spoke when he was asked a question, or he had to divert the briefing back to a important topic that had been skipped. That was Wades' personality: he was quiet, but emotionless. And Courtney had seen combat logs of him taking down an entire Covenant Lance by himself back on _Atmosus_. Courtney promised herself that she would make sure he got a medal for his combat efficiency. But she was also scared of what he might do to the Diverted. It was as if Karma had a personal agenda against Wade; he his first family, had and lost a second, and had and lost a third. He was a broken man. And there was already a report that Wade had been watching 'Lodam and its' men in the shadows.

Courtney needed to go back to normal. She needed to speak to Wade before he acted out with cold revenge, and ruined their chances of ending the war with the blinding emotion.

Courtney let out a scream. She needed to speak to Wade!

But she calmed herself down with the thought of Lance Corporal Brian Davis likely being on the bed beside her, watching over her. She wanted to apologize to Davis, because whether she liked the fact or not, she found his jokes funny. They were creative, and smart. And she always acted out as if she hated him for them. But that wasn't the fact. She remembered yesterday when the Monarch hacked and turned on her personal COM connection with Fireteam Solitude right on time to have Cross get caught up in a joke. She may not had laughed at the present time, but she went along with the joke -discreetly- and laughed about it in private later. And fortunately, Davis was one of the rare members of the crew that had not lost anything from the war. He grew up on Earth... but even Earth would fall unless they got back.

She didn't show her respect for Davis. Just like she didn't show her respect for Timmy.

Courtney often spoke to Timmy as if he was annoying -which he was at times. But it might had been better if Timmy selected a different personality. With this bland one, he just seemed so... _annoying_. But it wasn't Timmy, it was her. And Timmy needed to know that. Timmy needed to know that Courtney respected his blunt arse. Timmy was not flawed, he had too many ups! He was always direct, always went straight to the point, never questioned Courtney, never joked nor was he sarcastic, and he was loyal. Courtney could not think of any way Timmy could betray her.

Thinking of loyalty bought up Lynda -Courtneys' most closest and trusted friend.

Lynda and Courtney were indebted to each other; they had saved each other in more ways than one numerous times. And it started when Courtney saved Lyndas' marriage.

Courtney could remember that day as clear as any memory she had from the previous day. She had just arrived to Earth with her parents after escaping Arcadia. The UNSC ship that gave them passage from Arcadia to Earth landed on the outskirts of New York City. And while her parents were resting and being tended to at a hospitable, Courtney decided to hit a nearby night-club.

After dancing for non stop all night and drinking plenty of serves; but not enough to make her drunk, Courtney was finally about to head back to the hospitable, and was just finishing up a friendly conversation with a friendly Marine that served on the same ship that helped them get to Earth when a young and drunk Lynda appeared out of nowhere.

Lynda began chatting the Marine up, and began flirting with him. Courtney just though nothing of it, and got her handbag and hopped off of her bar-stool when Lynda began waving her hand in the air for the bar-keeper to gt her a drink, and Courtney suddenly noticed the wedding ring on Lyndas' finger. Knowing where this might head, Courtney needed to stop the drunk and _horny _Lynda before she got herself into trouble.

"Excuse me," Courtney broke in as Lynda began to ease herself onto the Marines' lap with Lynda and the Marine turning their heads to look at her "I don't think you should do what you're about to do."

Lynda narrowed her drunken eyes "_Yah? and what hat?" _Lynda slurred as she almost fell off the Marines' lap but was saved when the Marine caught her and eased her back onto his lap. Courtney rolled her eyes at the scene before replying "Flirting with _good 'ole_ Patrick here; I doubt your husband will approve."

Lynda almost fell of the Marines' lap again, but was helped back up by the Marine before she began slurring again "_What he doughnut know won't kill em_" The Marine chuckled at this. But Courtney just rolled her eyes again before replying with "You're drunk. Whatever you do tonight you _will_ regret tomorrow. And trust me: regret ain't a nice feeling."

Lynda burped before replying "_you don't no shit,_" Lynda slurred"_cause, you doughnut no how to shit_." The Marine began laughing as he carefully pushed Lynda off of his lap "I'm married _myself_. So... yea." The Marine stated before he hopped up from his bar-stool and began making his way over to a women that was watching them before he kissed her and walked to a booth with her.

Lynda watched all this happen before snapping her head around to stare angrily at Courtney "_You hat two go and ruined ever thing._" Lynda slurred with Courtney grinning before asking her "Where do you live?" Lynda let out a chuckle with no humor before replying "_I life up the ass bum of a dwoople of diddly blobbly guys at beach -least, I tink tit were beach_."

"Room-089, Hestribute tower." The bar-keeper broke in to have Courtney turn her head to face him "Thanks." Courtney nodded in respect at the bar-keeper with him nodding back before she grabbed Lyndas' arm and began to lead her out of the bar.

Courtney went back to the hospitable after helping Lynda back to her apartment -but not before her husband told her to leave her chatters' number because "Lynda may be drunk now, but she'll be grateful tomorrow" which Courtney did. And much to her surprise, she got a call from Lynda on her chatter asking her if she wanted to meet up so Lynda could properly thank her. Courtney agreed, and they became quick friends after that coffee. And not long after becoming friends, Lynda decided to join the Marine Corp to help fight the Covenant -Courtney telling her about the events on Arcadia may had driven her to decide that as-well.

But not long after meeting Lynda and becoming her friend, Courtney was called to duty aboard the UNSC _Lancelot _until she rose the ranks and got reassigned to multiple different vessels. In the meantime, Lynda was proving to be an effective Marine. And through their constant communications they maintain with each other, when Courtney finally became Captain of the _Kryptonite_, she requested to have Lynda serve aboard. The request was almost denied since Lynda was such a valuable asset to the fleet that she was serving in. But they eventually gave in once Courtney convinced them to let the _Kryptonite _be reassigned to that fleet. They finally ended up together again two years before the _Kryptonite _was assigned by ONI and FLEETCOM to go after Red and the Diverted._  
_

Courtney smiled at the memory -the only time she had smile since the pain started. But the happy thought also bought about the painful thought. Her child, Eric. It seemed so odd at the time. Eric was the sweetest and shyest boy she knew. And during the final hour of the ball, when she had finally let her hormones take control, she wanted him -not for his handsome looks, but for his sweet personality. And her parents had also cleared the house of their presence in-case she bought a boy home -which she _claimed _she wouldn't'.

But after arriving back home to her room, after letting her hormones let her fall in love, she remembered her promise to never be happy until she found Red. And she pushed Eric away. And it was at that time, Eric became a monster. He forced his way onto her, sneered and slobbered over her body. And the shocking realization came to Courtney... people were never what they seemed.

Courtneys' father almost killed Eric who stupidly decided to stay longer than he should have, cuddling up to the broken Courtney as she laid there. But when Courtney heard the car enter the garage, she screamed for help.

Though luckily, Eric survived her fathers' wrath. But he also managed to survive the Covenant. And now, only God knew where he was.

And he left a curse on Courtney... He left her pregnant. And -much to her parents dismay- she would not have the child; she would not be happy. She was, of course, not getting an abortion over the child being Erics'; she was getting an abortion because of Red.

And now, ONI would burn; they would burn for taking Red away from her. Those moments each night when they cuddled each other in bed, when they where fully one with each other, those were the moments Courtney was the most happiest in her life. And she lost those moments. And Courtney began crying at the memory -not pain. She screamed at the fucked up race called Humanity that took her brother from her. And she made a decision.

If the pain stopped... if she could command the _Kryptonite _again... they weren't going back to _Earth_.

* * *

**November 8, 2547 ****[1023 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Inside The Library, Installation 06.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

"What are you?" The Gravemind asked.

It didn't take long after Red broke for the Gravemind to begin speaking to him directly -not through his mind. It was better since a shock-wave of pain went through Reds' head whenever the Gravemind spoke to him through his mind. The Gravemind also released some control of Reds' body so he could reply to any of the Graveminds' questions. Unfortunately, every-time he moved his mouth, pain went through his body. So he would often talk to the Gravemind via thinking -which the Gravemind found amusing.

_(I'll indulge you) _"I am a monument to all my sins." Red finally replied with pain washing over his body as he spoke each word.

The Graveminds' booming laughter filled Reds' ears. Out of all the personalities that the Gravemind had used, this one was its' worse. Its' best -if it could be called "The best" was its' calmer personality in which it regularly speaks in Trochee and other poetic ways. But that personality seemed gone. All that remained was the one that was _dead-set_ on turning Red over to the Flood with as much pain as it could cause.

"You will 'indulge' _me?_" The Gravemind asked him in its deep, cold, emotionless voice "You spoke what spoke because I made you speak so. Do not believe for a moment that you, food, have control over this form. Everything you ever will say or do is directed by me."

_(Thinking?) _The Graveminds' deep voice let out another booming laugh at this before it replied "I do not control your pathetic, weak mind -yet." More booming laughter echoed through the room and Reds' ears.

The visions of images and scenes started to come less frequently until they stopped coming. The Gravemind was now torturing Red until it decided to give up, and make him a Combat Form or something. That was at least what Red thought. And the Gravemind would simply laugh at the thought but not bring his fate up. So perhaps the Gravemind had other plans.

"A memory continues to present itself to me," The Gravemind said out of the blue "and I wish to engage in a conversation regarding it." _(Do I have a choice?)_ The Gravemind let out another booming laugh before replying "No, you do not."

The memory played out. It was actually several memories of Red laying with Nai in bed at night. The memories that Red felt most sad about remembering. The Gravemind likely knew this, and it was possible it was bringing this memory up only to torture Red further.

The Graveminds' deep voice then boomed "What is the reason behind these 'touching' memories?" _(There was always a warm feeling when we were close together. I can't really explain the reason behind it... but it was comforting to be so close to her. And she felt the same way. Contrary to what Christina thought, it was not incest. But it was not brotherly or sisterly love either. It was something deeper... I can't comprehend it. But every night we would claw into each others' beds and sleep with each other. And we both had the same dreams)_

The Graveminds' laughter boomed in Reds' ears "You were one." _(A statement -not a question) _"Observant." The Gravemind laughed in its' deep voice in reply to Reds' thought.

_(My parents didn't think it was incest, though. They thought it was odd, but cute. It starting happening when we were finally given beds at the age of four. So it was impossible for it to be incest at such a young age. But Christina thought it was incest because she was stupid to live) _The Gravemind let out another booming laugh "You _believe _in that term? Were it not one of your functions to not judge?" _(098s' function -not mine. I was long gone before the mental indoctrination got worse enough that my Humanity was taken away from me) _

Red felt himself move. It was odd: more and more of the Gravemind was becoming visible out of the side of his vision. But then it hit him _(I am being bought back) _The Graveminds' booming laughed was its' reply. Red... was sinking into the Graveminds' flesh. And the Gravemind must had heard Reds' thoughts, because it suddenly said "Soon, we shall be one whole, one being, one form. No, I think not. This is not your grave; I am but welcoming you in it."

_(My fate?) _The Graveminds' deep, booming voice answered almost immediately -which was odd of it since it usually laughed or something like that "Soon to be unraveled. But, if you desire to know a hint -all desire a hint. Infiltration."

Unlike the Gravemind, Red could not see everything that _had_ happened, or _was_ happening unless the Gravemind showed it to him. But Red did see something the Gravemind suddenly showed him. And he at first thought it was an Elite... but it was something else. _(What is this?) _The Gravemind -again- didn't laugh, and immediately answered "Your saviors... guardians..." Red saw something scurrying in the dark corners of a large hallway that seemed to be in the Library. Hundreds of Combat Forms lay dead in the hallway as the creatures continued down the hallway, in the shadows.

The Gravemind suddenly decided to laugh in its' deep voice "They desire to save you... but they will only set you on the path to the anguish of all."

The scene faded away, and all Red could see was the dark chamber with the various lights, and the Index "That which you desire," The Gravemind began as one of its' long tentacles appeared out of the side of Reds' view, and reached over to the Index that was floating in the air over a circular hole "is but dust and echoes." The Graveminds' tentacle circled around the Index until it held it, and it then pulled its' tentacle hardly, shattering the Index into millions of bits of dust and particles.

_(The Index is irrelevant) _The Gravemind let out a booming laugh at this before responding "Agreed, it is." As soon as the Gravemind said this, a scene suddenly appeared. Red saw what looked like the crew of the _Kryptonite _and the Diverted gathered in the officers' lounge. They were discussing something. And it didn't take long for Red to figure out that they were discussing plans to leave Halo, and destroy it "No attempts to stop this will be made," The Gravemind announced in its' booming voice "for this rings' destruction, and you returning back to _Erde-Tyrene _is what I desire."

_(And your elimination?) _The Gravemind let out a booming laugh before replying "My defeat shall not matter... Humanity will be turned into food from the inside-out. A defeat brought about by none other than you, food." _(I take it you're not gonna elaborate?) _The Gravemind let out another deep laugh before replying "No."

A scene suddenly came into play. Red was on Reach... in that city. It play out how he remembered it... he killed everyone; the animals, the family, the friends. And he waited for the police to turn up, and they were they shocked when they saw him; in-fact, they at first believed him to be a survivor.

"Do you regret this action?" The Gravemind suddenly asked him in its' deep voice. _(Affirmative. It created 098. I was weak, I was... stupid. I acted out of hatred... and that made me weak. I wanted to become a machine to spite Halsey... but I lost everything because of that) _"You would have lost everything even if you did not act like this." The Gravemind stated.

_(Can you do me a favor?) _"Depends?" The Gravemind replied "But do go on." _(Wait... Negative; you want me alive for something) _"Where you going to ask me to finish you?" The Gravemind questioned him in its' deep voice. _(Affirmative. A moment of foolishness; I momentarily forgot that you don't want me dead) _The Gravemind let out a booming laugh in reply, but didn't continue._  
_

Red guessed that he had been a captive of the Gravemind for less than a day. But it felt like he had been a captive for an eternity. Time... didn't seem to exist there. And the pain was endless. Red, of course, wouldn't scream if he even could. But he would cry instead. The pain was blinding, deafening. It would had been worse if he had not been sharing it with Courtney. But he wish that was the case; he didn't want Courtney to feel what he was feeling.

"Soon, she shall be with you again," The Gravemind suddenly said, hearing Reds' thought "She shall be with us all. This pain, will be her only feeling; her only emotion." _(You will be engaged and defeated) _The Gravemind laughed at that "I have planned your demise for the numerous cycles we have been in the dark. There is no thing in the Universe that will stop us."

_(There is one) _much against the pain that was telling him not to, Red remembered John-117. He remembered his most greatest -but feared- memory of John. The memory of John at his strongest. But also at his weakest.

2545, _New Albany_, _Draco III_. Every civilian living on the planet was rounded up into the single city, and promptly massacred by Covenant forces. Unfortunately for the Covenant, a large amount of SPARTANs were watching the massacre via satellite uplink, and they weren't happy about what they saw.

The Covenant fleet -that only consisted of at least a dozen ships- was already scattered due to the naval engagement over the planet. And due to the UNSCs' increasing presence, the Covenant fleet was doomed. But there was still the ground-forces that massacred the civilians, so -much to the SPARTAN IIs' pleasure- CENTCOM gave the order for the SPARTANs to deploy via several D77-TC Pelicans to eliminate all surviving ground-forces while the fleet was finished off.

Due to the many fronts the war was being fought on, not all SPARTANs were redeployed to _Draco III. _But there was still plenty enough for the Covenant ground-forces to be eliminated with no friendly casualties.

It was Blue Team that was redeployed to _Draco III _to combat the Covenant invasion. And Red -who was always reassigned from Green Team to Blue Team- was one of the members along with John-117 -who was always the leader of Blue Team- Carris-137,William-043 -or Will-043- Kelly-087, James-005, , Jorge-052, Cal-141, Joseph-122, and Linda-058. Currently Green Team had been temporarily dissolved so more SPARTANs could be operational on _Draco III._ So all members of Green Team had been temporarily reassigned to Blue Team.

The SPARTANs were each given a M808B Scorpion that they would use to make their way through the streets of _New Albany _to desecrate the Covenant ground-forces. And the ground-forces _were_ massacred. And while the rest of Blue Team was finishing off the ground-forces around the city with their Scorpions, Alpha-Blue Team -consisting of John, Red, and James- had just arrived at the gravity lift leading into a CCS-class battlecruisers' bowls. The cruiser was acting as EVAC for the ground-forces, and after finding our that they didn't make it in time to save any civilians, John was determined not to let a single Covenant soldier to leave the planet. That meant the cruiser had to be destroyed.

Surprisingly, the Gravemind made no attempt to stop Red from remembering the events of that day. In-fact, the Gravemind actually enhanced it so it was more focused and clear, and made the memory feel more like a scene playing in his head. The Gravemind must had been curious about what could possibly defeat it.

The corpses of mangled Brute, Grunt, and Jackal bodies surrounded the gravity lifts' base. And Red fired a single 90mm tungsten Armor Piercing Ballistic Capped Round from the Scorpions' M512 cannon which split apart the final Brute lance, shredding the several Grunts, two Brutes, and two Jackals into a mess of flesh, limbs, and guts.

"Sierra-098 reporting Standard Brute Lance-068 eliminated. All contacts eliminated." Red reported over Alpha-Blue Teams' TEAMCOM with John replying "Red, this is Chief. rendezvous on my position ASAP."

Red blinked his green acknowledgement light and began to shift the gears so the Scorpion began turning around.

"Chief," Kelly said over the TACCOM as Red had fully turned his Scorpion around, and was moving it towards James and Johns' Scorpions "This is Kelly. The Covenant ground-forces in our vicinity have been eliminated. requesting new orders."

"Kelly," John responded "get to the EVAC zone. We'll join you soon." Kellys' green acknowledgement light blinked once to signal that she understood her orders.

"Chief, how are we gonna take this thing down?" James questioned John over the TEAMCOM.

"I'm going to take the Scorpion inside the cruiser." John replied in his gruff voice with no emotion but anger over the Covenants' massacred of the civilian population. John seemed... _"Unhinged__" _by what had happened. And he had displayed emotions that none of the SPARTANs had seen him display since he was much younger. In-fact, due to their limited memory of being six, it was like this was the first time they had seen John like this. And it was scary.

"Chief," James quickly interjected over the COM "I don't think the architect of the gravity lifts' base won't-" James didn't get to finish before John spun the Scorpions' turret around, and blew one of the spire barricades built into the gravity lifts' base apart, making room for the Scorpion to move onto it.

Red decided to interject himself as John began moving his Scorpion onto the gravity lifts' base "Sierra-117, survival probability: ten percent." John wasted no time in replying with "Those odds are good enough." as he finished positioning his Scorpion onto the gravity lifts' base.

Red wasted no time in interjecting again "Personal emotions irrelevant. Elimination probability: ninety percent. Recommend disengagement of irrelevant, own designed objective."

"Relax, I'll have enough of time to jump out of the hole I'm going to make in the hull before the cruiser crashes, and I have a plan of reaching the ground safely." John reassured Red with Red finally giving up protesting, and blinking his green acknowledgement light

"Captain, this is Sierra-117," John said over the secure COM channel with the UNSC _Hexagon_ "permission for insertion-" The Captain obviously overheard Johns' plans on his connection with the TACCOM and the splinter teams' TEAMCOM for he answered before John could finish "Permission granted, Master Chief; give'em hell -that's an order -how copy? Over."

"Captain, this is Sierra-117. Solid copy. Out." John responded as Red parked his Scorpion next to James and watched as Johns' Scorpion was sucked up into the bowls of the cruiser.

"James," Linda broke in over the TACCOM "why is Johns' NAV marker saying that he's _inside _the Covenant cruiser." James wasted no time in responding "That's because he is," They both watched as an explosion ripped a hole into the hull near the gravity lift bay "John decided to take the cruiser down by using its' gravity lift to take his Scorpion into the cruiser where he plans on destroying it from the inside." James finished explaining as another explosion ripped a hole into the hull.

Will sighed in annoyance over the TACCOM before Linda responded "You _didn't _try to _stop him _from throwing his life away?" And James responded with "He seemed _pretty confident_ that he was going to survive."

"Don't worry," Chief broke in over the TACCOM, explosions were heard over his COM "I have already worked out how I'm leaving this ship."

Another explosion ripped a hole through the hull, and the cruiser began to rock unsteadily.

"Covenant logic dictates that they _can't _deactivate their damn gravity lift when three pissed off _'Demons' _are knocking on the doors." Jorge joked over the TACCOM.

"Who's complaining?" Kelly replied as another explosion ripped a hole into the cruisers' hull with Joseph breaking in over the TACCOM "Agreed. maintain radio silence, and watch the fireworks."

Another explosion ripped a hole through the cruisers' hull just as a voice came over the TACCOM "Alpha-Blue Team, this is Pelican dropship: Zulu-056. I'm moving in to provide EVAC. ETA: minus 2 minutes -how copy? Over."

Red immediately responded "Zulu-056, this is Alpha-Blue-03. Solid copy, out." And just as Red stopped speaking, another explosion ripped a hole through the cruisers' hull. And not long after that explosion, the gravity lift deactivated which must had meant that the cruisers' pilots knew they weren't going to make it, but decided to take a "Demon" with them if they were going to go down.

Another explosion blew a large hole into the cruisers' hull, and the cruiser began to shake profusely as it slowing started to descend towards the city. James wasted no time in warning John "Chief! The cruiser's going down; disengage; I saw again, disengage!"

"Affirmative." Chiefs' gruff voice replied, and Red and James watched as a figure fell out of the hole in the hull that was closest to the gravity lift bay -likely actually _inside _the gravity lift bay.

The figure sped towards them as it slowly began to shape out as John who was using the body and jump-jet of a Brute Ranger to control his descent.

"Always the resourceful one." Jorge joked over the TACCOM which must had meant that the rest of Blue Team was watching what was happening by zooming in their HUD view, or -in Lindas' case- using the scope of their weapons that were linked up to their HUD.

Thanks to the Brute, Johns' descent from the cruiser to the ground posed no problems. And he landed safely before releasing his clutches on the Brutes' body and making his way over to where Zulu-056 had designated as the EVAC zone on their HUD.

John had just destroyed a CCS-class battlecruiser and its' entire crew. Yet he acted like it was nothing. Red realized then that there was no stopping him.

The Gravemind let out a booming laugh as the memory slowly faded away "I admire your faith within this food that you call brother," Red noticed that he was in sightly less pain, and he was able to move his fingers around inside the Graveminds' flesh, and that he was also in the same position within the Graveminds' flesh that he originally was -he was being bought back out of the Gravemind "but this _'Master Chief' _will not defeat us."

Red heard something. A sound that was like a reptile bark. The Gravemind let out another booming laugh before saying "Your saviors are here."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** Thanks to any who have reached this A/N.**

**This chapter was a bugger to do. Not only is it the longest one I have done, but I have had to go over a few parts a couple of times, and real-life stuff got in the way as-well. But I'm thoroughly sure that I eliminated any typos. But please tell me in a review if you spot any typos or lore mistakes. Also just review for the hell of it.  
I recently told people in the last chapter that I may not respond to everyones' review. This proved to be stupid since I think people refrained from reviewing because of this (That, or it was my submitting rate) But please know that I will for now on reply to any and all new reviews with a personal thank-you.**

**A lot of the Halo canon is very blurred. One such blurred fact is that John and most of the SPARTANs didn't encounter Brutes, Elites, or Hunters until much later into the war. I find that future expansion into the Halo Universe contradicts this. So I have just decided that John and the rest of the SPARTANs have encountered and fought all races of the Covenant (Save the Prophets and Engineers) numerous times in the Human-Covenant War.**

******New Follower alert! Ding! Ding! Ding! SomeRelic, and Pure Onyx.**

******I ask that these two leave a single review before I make an OC based on them.**

******Next chapter will be focused solely on Vale. And I'm planning on making chapters go back to focusing on a single POV and not multiple POVs. There will be more POVs during larger, more important chapters in the story, though.**

**************************************************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, THE REVIEWING MASTER,**** gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7, goldmonk, ArmoredFury, Mumble8, ultimate idiot, SpeedyNaomi, Hunter092, ShootingKill, hi ace50, SomeRelic, Pure Onyx.**


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two: The Ghost Heretic

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **

In chapter twenty-one, I put in that Courtney had sex with a random person in a bathroom. I had meant to remove this part before I submitted the chapter (due to me thinking about it and finding it against Courtney's character and her fear of sex after being raped) but forgot. I have since removed that part.

* * *

**[ CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: THE GHOST HERETIC ]**

* * *

_To thine own eyes: High Prophet of Regret, High Prophet of Mercy._

_Dearest Brothers:_

_The victories against the heretic Human race has been, by all means, granted by the Gods.  
World after world has fallen, their poisonous essence and very existence is being purged.  
__The Forerunners made a mistake in choosing the Humans as the Reclaimers, a dire mistake. And I know that we do them a great service by keeping their mistake a secret, and wiping the falsely chosen away, and living up to the heritage of the Covenant being the true Reclaimers._

_But despite our attempts to keep this damaging truth a secret, we are no longer the only ones who know the truth.  
The Prophet of Pity has, through cunning means, discovered our secret.  
This may not had been such a problem if it was anyone other than that fool.  
But while I deal with the Prophet of Pity, I must caution you to guard this secret much more carefully, we cannot allow anyone else to know of this devastating truth, less it break the Covenant apart._

_Unfortunately, I cannot execute the Prophet of Pity, not even quietly. His influence is too great, and his disappearance will raise questions.__  
So I have decided to not permanently silence him, but approach him peacefully, and offer him something in return for is infinite silence.  
This should and will work according to my deigned plan, for the entire Covenant knows of the Prophet of Pitys' greed._

_I bid you good tidings. And I demand that you heed my warnings accordingly, and lock these secrets up more tightly.  
I will not revel the events that led up to the Prophet of Pity finding out the truth, less I change your perspective of me to one of low respect. Just know that I made terrible mistake that I shall not make again. And I warn you to avoid making the same mistake.  
_

_By my own hands: High Prophet of Pity_

* * *

**September 10, 2555 ****[0916 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard Unknown _Sahara_-class heavy Prowler.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

Security in the interview room was almost tripled after Red confirmed to West that there was a Flood Spore originating from the Gravemind in his brain. The extra security was no surprise, of course. Red would have actually been surprised if it was the opposite, and that West wasn't taking the necessary precautions.

There was now three guards standing to the either side of him with the two closest to him having a M45D shotgun at the ready. There was also two guards in each corner, with another two on both the right and left side of the sealed door that led into the corridor of the Prowler. There was also some automatic turrets set up on the walls that were to shoot Red if Frasine commanded them to.

West wanted to actually perform an immediate surgical operation on Red to remove the Graveminds' Spore. But Red -actually the Graveminds' Spore- aggressively refused. West could had forcefully detain Red if he had to, but decided not to risk any lives, and decided to wait until they got back to _Earth _so the proper authorities could handle him. While in the meantime, West wanted to know what happened next -he actually seemed invested in what he was hearing, and was eager to know what happened next.

West took his seat across from Red, coffee and Data-pad on his side of the table -as usual. When he was seated he picked up his coffee mug, took a small sip before putting the coffee mug back on the table and picking up his Data-pad while grabbing his stylus out of his shirt pocket "ONI interview: Incident 071824260, session 7: begin." He said as he turned his Data-pad on.

Once the Graveminds' Spore was revealed, it let Red explain almost everything to West.

Red explained why the surviving crew of the _Kryptonite _didn't say anything past when Red was captured by the Flood -it was the Graveminds' Spore that ordered them to, not Red. And it told the crew for its' amusement, so it could be cryptic about "The story" -as it would call.

Red also explained why he was previously using his "098 personality" when he knew that his "098 personality" was a lie -it was so Red didn't seem suspicious to the crew of the Prowler. And for its' amusement, the Graveminds' Spore decided to make Reds' "098 personality" stick around for a bit -until it got bored and decided to let Red control his own mind again.

Red also explained to West that the Graveminds' Spore was the reason he knew things when he wasn't there. But he didn't explain as to why he knew exactly what Rhine, Vale and Thel was thinking. He did, however, explain that the Gravemind had access to Nais' thoughts and emotions through a deeper fraternal twin connection. But Thel, Vale, and Rhine would be explained later.

Red also shaved his hair to show the scar from where the Gravemind dug into his head, and planted its' Spore. And explained that the Gravemind controls him to some extend. And that Red could say and do what he wants. But if what he wants to say or do contradicts what the Graveminds' Spore wants, the Graveminds' Spore would instantly prevent him -like the Graveminds' Spore was a second brain.

He also explained that while the Graveminds' Spore knew everything that _was _or _is_, Red did not. And could only know what _was _or _is _if the Graveminds' Spore showed or told him.

But Red didn't explain about the control chip the Monitor put into his mind that decreased the pain the Spore was causing him, and prevented the Graveminds' Spore from taking over Reds' body randomly for its' random acts of violence for its' amusement. If the Graveminds' Spore was going to do that, it would be a significant amount of pressure on its' part. That's why Red had a large outbreak earlier; the Graveminds' Spore was building it up and decided to release its' built up anger to spite Red. Red guessed the reason he didn't mention the chip was because the Graveminds' Spore didn't actually want the chip inserted into Reds' brain -but Lynda acted fast.

Red smiled at the memory of Lynda knocking him out when the Graveminds' Spore took control of him to prevent the Monitor from placing the chip in him. But a bit of pain washed through Reds' head which told him that the Graveminds' Spore wanted him to stop being so happy about it.

West so far hadn't bought up the mutiny yet. Red guessed that was because West wasn't particularly happy that he was with ONI at the moment, and he was likely ashamed of himself.

West was using his stylus to type something down on his Data-pad, and Red decided to break the silence "I'm going to leave you on another cliffhanger." Red announced in a tone that spoke of amusement. But it was really Graveminds' Spore that made Red say what he said; still it seemed to make Red say cryptic stuff that served no purpose but to confuse West.

West narrowed his eyes in annoyance before putting his Data-pad down and raising his head to face Red "Well that makes no sense; I mean... I_ don't see _why the Gravemind would continue to bounce around like this."

_(He has a point- I still desire amusement) _"It says that its' bored, and it finds you trying to work your head around everything amusing." Red explained. Though the Graveminds' Spore didn't exactly say that, it didn't stop Red from saying it.

West let out a light chuckled as he picked up his Data-pad again and muttered "Fucking asshole" as he began using his stylus to write something down onto the Data-pad again. That wasn't smart of him, the Graveminds' Spore knew of all Human curses and slang words. And whenever someone mocked it, they always ended up trying to kill Red.

_(Damn it! Just ignore him!) _"Your dead son was a _'fucking asshole__' _to those he calls 'friend' before he died." The Gravemind chuckled with its' mobile forms' voice. It was hard for the Gravemind to take control of the forms' mouth. But it was always worth it when it came to the food that mocked it.

The Food narrowed its' eyes and putting its' Data-pad down before raising its' head to look at the Graveminds' mobile forms' face, its'eyes full of nothing but irritation "That ain't gonna work," The Food smirked "because _I know_ what your intentions are. And I know that you'll fuck off if I ignore you."

The Gravemind let out a laugh through its' mobile form before letting the form have its' mind back _(See! The joke's on you!) _"Sorry!" Red quickly apologized as he began rubbing his head "It gets annoyed easily, so I recommend you don't provoke it." Red was thankful that West would learn this the _easy_ way over the much worse _hard _way which involved the person that the Graveminds' Spore insulted attacking Red and almost getting killed.

West let out a sigh of relief as he picked up his Data-pad again, his body slumping back into his chair as if a considerable amount of pressure was taken off of his shoulders "Agreed; that wasn't the smartest thing I have ever said." West let out a light chuckle and gestured towards Red "Continue when you ready."

_(Acknowledged) _Red nodded in acknowledgement, and opened his mouth to begin explaining what happened next.

* * *

**November 8, 2547 ****[1134 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**************Prophet Of Pity's Quarters, CAS-Class Assault Carrier: _Everlasting Retribution_, Installation 06.**

**Vale Nar 'Sarasee...**

* * *

A dish was put in front of Vale. A selective of his favorite food on one dish. An assortment of salads with his favorite spices covering them. There was also a large strip of tender and crispy Srevra meat peppered in his favorite spices with oil and wine soaking it.

Most of the salads and spices were from the other Covenant races' home-worlds -ergo: Eayn, Doisac. Many of Vales' Sangheili crew did not like the idea of him eating foreign food and spices, and while the taste was distinctly odd from the tastes of food from Sanghelios, the food was superb.

Vale began cutting up his tender meat with his utensils to get the meat through his mandibles when he spotted a Unggoy bringing over Careekius's dish of Thorn Beast meat.

"Finally!" Careekius roared in irritation as the dish was put in front of him. It was odd to see a Sangheili and Jiralhanae eat together. Vale even remembered a time when he personally found the thought to be his own personal taboo. But that was when he was young and slightly naive. But now, Vale regretted he did not eat with Careekius earlier -he could not stop jesting and talking when he was with Vale.

The meal chamber was full of Kig-Yar, Sangheili, and Jiralhanae seating with their own kin, by themselves, or with other races. But there were no Unggoy other than the servants -the Unggoy had their own chamber for their "Food nipple". And there was no sight of a single Sangheili and Jiralhanae sitting together -which came to no surprise to Vale, but still served as a disappointment that his crew were not learning to put aside their racism after witnessing him being around the kind-hearted Careekius so much.

The chamber itself was large enough to fit five hundred mouths at a time. The chamber was circular with a large dome serving as the roof and a large blue orb floating up in the domed roof that served as a light. The chamber was full of tables and benches in filed formations, and there was a stage at the far end of the chamber that served for anyone of religious matter to perform Sermons for the eating crew.

Vale used his forked utensil to pick up a thin strip of meat and brought it up to his mandibles where they snapped to grab it from the fork before they chewed it up and swallowed it. Vale found it hard to use his mandibles to their full potential after the beating he received the rotation before, and he slurred a bit when he spoke. Though the doctors reassured him that his mandibles will stop hurting, Vale was still worried about long-term damage. And there was likely going to be more damage after the Prophet of Pity eventually got around to calling him back to continue his beating. So far the Prophet of Pity had not brought it up, but it was only a matter of time.

_(Perfection as usual)_ A burst of flavor erupted in Vales' mouth, and he had to use a cloth to wipe away some saliva that was dripping from his mouth. Thankfully, Careekius did not see this. But then again, Careekius was making a mess as-well; pulling the meat apart with his hands before grabbing the juice covered meat and gorging it down his throat. _(It is rude to watch) _Vale quickly decided to divert his attention back to his food before Careekius spotted him looking at him.

"Drink, Master of Fleet." Vale cocked his head around to see a Unggoy holding a tray with goblets of wine on it. The Unggoy was a small thing, wearing basic serving robes with a methane tank on its' back and a tube linking from the tank up to his nose. The Unggoy also looked scared, seemingly unaware of Vales' kind heart to all those who serve him loyally.

_(I hate to see these things in so much fear) _Vale kindly grabbed a goblet and the jug of wine from the tray and placed them on the round table that he and Careekius was sitting at before craning his head back around to face the Unggoy "Thank you." Vale nodded in respect at small creature before reaching into his robes pocket and pulling out one of the many small Gekz tokens he had and kindly passed it to the Unggoy "Do not waste it." Vale kindly clicked his mandibles at the Unggoy with it beaming in happiness before bowing in respect "Thank you, oh so holy Master of Fleet." the Unggoy happily thanked in a tone of gratitude before turning around and carefully walking away with the tray still in his hands.

"You are too kind to one that will likely be torn apart by the next Jiralhanae it serves." Careekius observed and warned at the same time in a sad tone. _(I know)_ He was right; Jiralhanae often killed Unggoy for amusement. But Vale would not let that happen.

_(But all that walk the path are equal) _"I am only now aware of the constant killings the Jiralhanae have committed -no one gave it thought to inform me. And it saddens me that I have not been informed earlier," Vale stated as he took a sip from the goblet of wine that was specially designed to work with the Sangheili's mandibles "But now that I know, I mean to announce a penalty of execution to any murder of Unggoy."

Careekius quickly interjected "Many will not like that announcement." He warned before grabbing a strip of meat and gorging it into his mouth before letting out a burp and wiping the juice away from his cleanly shaven snout.

_(Many should not be so cruel) _Vale would not stand for senseless murder, and parted his mandibles to speak up "Those cruel enough to find amusement in the killing of their fellow brothers -no matter how small those brothers may be- deserve to die." Vale did not like the idea of execution. But it was necessary as long as the crime permitted it. Not like the Prophet of Pity who enjoyed executing people for his own arrogance.

Careekius finished taking a sip from his goblet and put it down on the table before turning his large head around to face Vale who was picking up some salad with his utensil "Just because I said that many will not like what your planned announcement , does not mean I do not like it; I find it a perfect idea."

_(I did not mean for you to heed my words so) _"Forgive me. I may have said the wrong words." Vale apologized, but still using his usual indifferent tone. Vale forgot that even Jiralhanae could be sensitive -a fact that many Sangheili consider false.

"There is nothing to forgive, brother," Careekius quickly reassured him in a reassuring tone before taking another sip from his goblet before putting it back down on the table "Anyway, I am the one who should be forgiven."

_(Why) _Vale was curious about why he said that "Why do you say that?" Vale clicked his mandibles in question before placing his forked utensil with salad on it into his mouth.

"What I said just then," Careekius answered "it was unnecessary and only served to confuse you."

_(There is nothing to forgive) _Vale finished taking a sip from his goblet and placed it down onto the table before replying "There is nothing to forgive, brother. You spoke your mind, and I respect you for that."

Careekius let out a reassured chuckle before sighing. He then shook it off and grabbed a piece of meat and gorged it down before burping again. Vale successfully stopped a grin from forming at the Chieftains' eating habits, and spotted a familiar looking Sangheili Minor approaching their table with a dish in his hand. _(Skae 'Kuzomee. He does not seem like one who would simply seat himself with two of a higher rank then himself) _Vale had a quick look around and saw two Jiralhanae Captain Ultras taking a seat at a table a few rows away from them.

"Forgive me, Fleet-Master," Skae bowed in respect and apology before taking a seat on the bench across from them. Careekius looked up as if he only just now noticed Skae -which he probably did.

_(There is no reason for me to forgive you) _"Think nothing of it," Vale waved his hand in a reassuring gesture "I would had let you sit among us even if you were not being followed."

Careekius almost choked on his meat "_What?_" He coughed as he looked around in confusion before spotting the two Captain Ultras, and he immediately said: "Fleet-Master, I gave no such order."

_(I know you did not) _"I did not expect you to; remember, the Prophet of Pity shall use your pack for his own personal use -with or without your permission. And your pack will always put the loyalty of the Prophet of Pity before their loyalty to you." Vale explained to him before picking up another strip of meat with his utensil and feeding it through to his mouth.

"I figured he would do that," Careekius stated in a puzzled tone before grabbing his goblet and taking a sip, his eyes not leaving the two Captain Ultras, and he finished taking a sip and placed his goblet back on the table before continuing "but I thought he would had at least asked me; there is no reason for him not to."

_(Other Prophets, maybe. But not the Prophet of Pity; he is an exception) _"The Prophet of Pity is an exception in all ways; if he finds something necessary to tell his Chieftain unnecessary, he will not speak it." Vale explained before waving a Unggoy with a tray of goblets over.

Skae saw Vale wave the Unggoy over, but did not protest. This was wise for it was rude in Sangheili customs to refuse any food or drink offered by someone unless it was necessary. _  
_

The Unggoy hopped along towards them before working his way around the table until he was next to Vale "Oh so holy Master of Fleet, how I serve?" The Unggoy asked in an excited tone, happy to be serving a Fleet-Master.

"Wine for him, please," Vale gestured with his right hand a Skae while reaching into his robes' pocket with his left hand and pulling out a Gekz token and kindly handing it to the Unggoy.

The Unggoys' face beamed when it saw the token "Thank you, kind Master of Fleet." The Unggoy bowed in respect as he pocketed the token in his aprons' pocket before turning around and carefully hurrying over to Skae where Skae kindly grabbed a goblet from the tray while affectionately patting the Unggoy on the head before nodding that the Unggoy could leave, which it did after bowing in respect and thanking Skae. _(Rejoice, I am not the only one)_

"Odd." Careekius remarked suddenly after he saw what happened between the Unggoy and Skae.

Skae raised his head to face Careekius "What do you mean?" Skae clicked his mandibles in question at Careekius before taking a sip from his goblet. _(I think I know what he means) _It was possible that Careekius found it odd that Skae was so kind to a Unggoy after one nearly got him killed.

Careekius grabbed his goblet and replied with: "A Unggoy almost got you killed, yet you show no visible anger towards their race for such a personal strife." Careekius finished and took a sip from his goblet. What Careekius said confirmed Vales' theory. _(I would like to hear this) _

Skae finished chewing down a piece of meat from his dish, and put his utensil back down onto the table next to his dish before explaining: "I will not hold a grudge against an entire race over the sins of one member."

_(Very well spoken) _Vale nodded and clicked his mandibles in agreement. It was rare for Vale to see a Sangheili that was in a similar state of mind as he was. Skae also did not seem to mind Careekius as-well which was a bonus.

"Perfectly put," Careekius said in a tone of agreement as he shuffled another small strip of meat in his mouth, swallowed it, and continued "the Unggoy _do not_ deserve to be treated as they are. And it is hard to make a Jiralhanae think that... _but after what I have seen done to them on Doisac... _I promised myself that I would forbid the brutal acts against them when I became Chieftain of the pack _(Chieftain?) _But then Literus overthrew my father, gutted him for the fun of it and made me eat his guts in spite," Careekius turned to look at Vale who was twitching his mandibles in puzzlement "But do not believe for a second that me speaking out against him was an act of personal vengeance."

_(No) _Vale immediately shook his head "Of course not; you do not seem as the type to do something like that, and your words against Literus carried a weight of logic," _(But how did I not know this already? Am I really that disconnected to the backgrounds of essentials in my fleet?)_ Vale toyed around with his salad using his fork as he wondered if he should say what he wanted to say next, all the while Careekius had a confused and curious look on his face, and he narrowed his eyes at Vale before nodding for him to speak up _(If you insist) _"I wanted to apologize."

"What for?" Careekius quickly broke in before grabbing his wine jug and filling up his goblet.

_(Allow me to explain) _"I admit, I did not know of your back-story; of your origins," Vale admitted and clicked his mandibles in a remorse "And it is not just you... I have been disconnected with members of this fleet for a while..."

"Politics," Careekius chuckled "Brother, it is fine; I am distant with my _own _pack since becoming Chieftain."

_(Sorrowful times) _Vale did what Careekius just did, and grabbed the wine jug and proceeded to fill up his goblet "Politics... takes a heavy toll in so many ways," Vale mused, watching the red wine pour into his goblet "but I always managed to veer around such an obstacle. But now we are here, on Halo..."

"I speak words of reassurance when I say that paradise is infinite," Skae joined in with a reassuring gesture with his right hand while using his left to hold his utensil and dig around in his food "and soon, you will have unlimited time to connect with the members of this fleet."

_(Smart words of reassurance) _Skae was right; Vale would have time to connect with members of the Covenant when they go to paradise, and were saved from their doomed existence; that was if Vale did not spend all his time communing with the Forerunners. Vale was glad that he released Skae from his cell after convincing the Prophet of Pity to forget about what happened, and let him deal with Skae. The Prophet reluctantly agreed. But that did not seem to stop the Prophet of Pity from sending his agents to tail Skae; Vale feared for what they may do.

_(Perhaps I should voice my concerns) _Vale brought his goblet up to his mandibles and took another sip before putting the goblet back onto the table and raising his head to face Skae who was eating a strip of meat "Brother," Skae looked up to face Vale "the Prophet of Pity seems to be making haste to act aggressively against you," Skaes' face began to show signs of worry "so I recommend that you be retained in a cell -again."

Skae nodded in agreement "I was going to mention that myself." Skae stated as he took a bite out of the meat on his utensil.

_(You should not have to) _"I am sorry, brother." Vale apologized, clicking his mandibles in remorse as he used his utensil to pick up the last strip of meat while using his free hand to cover the meet in his salad.

Skae looked up to face him, a reassuring grin being formed by his mandibles "Fear not, Fleet-Master, for I had a fair share of time in a cell. And going back to one for my protection means nothing to the alternative." Skae went back to finishing off his meat.

_(I am aware as to what he means) _"Do tell." Careekius waved for him to continue before grabbing his goblet and taking a sip from it.

Skae nodded in compliance while Vale finished off his meal and waved a Unggoy over to take his plate "All Sangheili know of the 'Kuzom civil conflict that happened not 13 cycles ago," Vale watched Careekius nod in curiosity "The Lineage split over a political disagreement on the assassination of Laves 'Kuzomee -the greatest 'Kuzom lineage Kaidon in Sangheili history."

Vale gave his plate to the Unggoy servant and waved the servant off before thanking it and giving it a Gekz token. Careekius began to lean forward in eagerness, it was odd to see a Jiralhanae so interested in Sangheili history and culture _(Will I be blessed by the Gods further for saving this young ones' life?) _"The Elders were split between whether to execute the Elder that assassinated the Laves for killing such a grand Kaidon," Skae continued "or whether to let the Elder live as per proper customs; two sides came out: the 'Kuzom loyalists -wanting the Elder executed and to betray Sangheili customs- and the Unyielding Culturists -wanting to protect the Elder and uphold Sangheili customs. I sided with the Culturists, and voiced my outcry publicly."

Careekius was heavily invested in the story Skae was telling _(This is a joyous sight to withhold)_ "I was imprisoned or my outcry; the Loyalist Elders not wanting to give me the honorable death, locked me in the dark. And in the dark I stayed..." Skae raised his head, sadness and gratitude in his eyes as his mandibles formed a smile at Vale _(You are welcome)_ "Until the 'Kuzom lineages' loyal allies decided to step in, and to peacefully resolve this issue -the Saras Lineage."

_(Led by me at the time)_ Vale remembered when he received the message about the civil conflict, and how he immediately responded by calling upon his fleet that was in orbit -he was lucky enough to had been sent back to Sanghelios by the council for some recuperation after his fleet was crippled in a major battle against the Humans. His fleet was small at the time, but he had enough ships to intimidate the 'Kuzom Lineage to heed his warnings for them to cease their aggression before it turned into war.

Skae continued, eyes fixed on Vale "You saved my life brother; twice. You saved many lives in the civil strife, you ended the conflict before violence began, and reminded the Loyalists of their Sangheili customs, and I was freed," Skae nodded in respect at Vale "And now, not 13 cycles later, you have saved me yet again from the Prophet of Pity."

"Do not thank him just yet," Careekius interjected while eyeing the Ultra Captains "The Prophet of Pity seems to be still out to execute you." That was true. But despite Vale convincing the Prophet to let Skae and the responsible Huragok live, it appeared the Prophet did not listen. Vale would have to make haste to speak with the Prophet soon.

_(you are right) _Vale finished taking a sip from his goblet and put it down, it and the jug was now empty so he waved a Unggoy over to collect them before cocking his head around to face Skae "I explained to the Prophet of Pity that your weighted words were true; the Ghost was tampered with by a Unggoy. And I managed to convince him to let both you and the responsible Huragok live. There is no reason for him to spy on you. That is if they even are spying on you; they are not doing a good job. And I doubt the Prophet of Pity will execute you if I know that it may be what he is planning."

Skae nodded his head in understanding "Perhaps you should bring this matter up with him again?" Skae suggested "Either all, I am willing to be put in a cell for my protection." Vale did not want to lock Skae up; it was a waste of a Ghost pilot.

Vale thought on this (_A__ cell may not be necessary) _The Unggoy he called earlier finally came over to him, and he passed the Unggoy his goblet and the wine jug before grabbing another wine jug -just in-case Skae wanted more wine- and reached into his pocket and pulled out another Gekz token and passed it to the happy Unggoy before nodding his head in thanks at the Unggoy to have him bow in respect and gratitude before hurrying off with the tray carrying a couple goblets and a jug _(Small and slow creatures. But they are loyal and worthy as any other to walk the blessed path. Now, back to the current events) _"Perhaps I do not need to lock you back up," Vale mused with both Skae and Careekius turning their heads to face him, puzzled expressions on their faces "On the contrary to be exact. tell me, brother, how is your experience when it comes to piloting Ghosts?"

Skae narrowed his eyes at Vale and finished off his last bit of meat before placing his utensils down and saying: "I was specially drafted into piloting Ghosts for this fleet. And I have piloted Ghosts and fought Humans in this fleet for about seven cycles." Seven out of the twenty cycles the Fleet had been assembled was good enough for Vale to be confident with. Vale was actually surprised about how Skae was still a Minor after so many cycles of service.

_(That is good enough) _Vale knew what he wanted "We have heard rumors of some type of Parasite that has attacked all ground scouting teams I have sent deeper across the ring; this may be _the _Parasite -enemies of our Gods," Skaes' face showed a great deal amount of worry, and he clicked his mandibles in worry as-well "I mean to send a large armored convoy led by General Trerx 'Huldamee towards where these disappearances have happened to see what the scouting teams' fate is. And If it means putting you to use while also getting you away from the Prophet of Pity, I plan on sending you with the convoy while also promoting you to Major -a much deserved rank."

Skae quickly got up off of the bench he was sitting on, and bowed in respect and gratitude "You honor me, Fleet-Master. I shall serve you to the best of my abilities." Vale had to resist letting his mandibles form a grin; it was always a good feeling to make someone happy. _(He deserves it. Though, the Prophet of Pity will think to the contrary when I tell him) _

Vale gestured for Skae to be at ease and take his seat again which he did _(There is one thing that requires attention) _"Before you join the convoy -which shall be soon- I must take you to the Prophet of Pity where he will bless you with giving your spot on the path back to you -since he screamed about having removed you earlier." _  
_

Careekius waved a Unggoy over to collect the empty plates that he and Skae had, while Skae simply nodded in acknowledgement, still having the eyes of worry about facing the possible "Flood". _(I should clarify myself) _"You have a choice, of course -about going with the convoy. I would not dare order you to do something that you have no desire to do." Vale clicked his mandibles in reassurance at Skae who simply nodded indifferently.

Skae still had the eyes of worry, and looked as if he was trying to make a decision. But he finally spoke up: "I have no reason to fear death if my spot on the Great Journey is secured; I shall go." Vale was glad to hear this. He would be away from the Prophet, and in the caring hands of some of his most trusted warriors. But Vale would not send soldiers to their death; he already made sure to have a Corvette in a supportive position for the convoy.

_(Hopefully that will be enough) _"In the mean time," Vale said before either Careekius or Skae could bring up another topic "I have received permission from the high Prophet of Truth to destroy this Forerunner device that is keeping us stranded on this holy ring."

Careekius wasted no time in interjecting "Is the high Prophet of Truth sure this will not bring about the wraith of our Gods?" Careekius had every right to be worried; no member of the Covenant wanted to be left behind when the Great Journey started over a mistake.

_(I do not truly know what the Prophets' are playing at. But I do know that I was planning on destroying this device with or without his permission) _While Vale always spoke his mind, he only spoke his mind if what he was thinking was relevant to the situation. That is why he always put aside any retorts he had for the Prophet of Pity; they were irrelevant. But thankfully the heretical thoughts he often had were never relevant for the current situation. The same was here: he had no reason to reveal what he was thinking, and get himself into serious trouble.

Pushing all thoughts aside: Vale answered "It would be illogical for the Gods to tell the high Prophet of Truth to sacrifice a fleet veterans in combat against the Humans, along with one of the Covenants' most greatest military tacticians over the preservation of a single device infected by the rogue Oracle the Gods left behind."

"The Fleet-Master speaks true," Skae agreed "the high Prophet of Truth will not lead us astray."

_(He may already have) _Vale kept the thought inside of his mind for there was no reason to bring it up. And it would be life threatening if he bought it up. He would not -could not- jeopardize Yexyn and Qrs's search for the Heretics and Humans.

"I am reassured. And I was wrong to doubt the high Prophet of Truth." Careekius stated in a relieved tone.

_(Doubting him is all I am doing) _Vale shook the thought before answering "A minor doubt," Vale saw Skae nod in agreement "It matters not. All that matters is that you only act on that doubt if it has been proven true, or if lives hang in the balance over your doubt; but not before."

Vale remembered a similar philosophy he had about how making mistakes are okay if you learn and evolve from them in such a way that you will not make them again. Vale was logical to say the least.

"That is well spoken," Careekius remarked as he swiped up his goblet and took a quick sip before placing it back down on the table and turning to face him "But it has a meaning that worries me."

Vale spotted Skae nodding out of the corner of his eye "Philosophy is always controversial," Vale stated, eyes fixed on Careekius's eyes "But I can see why you are worried. _(But you should be; I am acting on my doubt)_" Vale quickly pushed the thought aside; not wanting to betray his trait of always speaking his mind when it was relevant, but not wanting to endanger himself nor Yexyns' crew or Qrs's team.

"What about the operation to destroy the device?" Skae quickly broke in, attempting to change the topic -much to Vales' relief- with Vale and Careekius quickly turning their heads to face Skae. Careekius let out a breath, as he was relieved _(I believe that Careekius wants the topic changed as much as me. He will likely report this to the Prophet of Pity. But I do not see what the Prophet of Pity can do against weightless words) _

"Please clarify what you want to know." Vale gestured for Skae to continue. Skae no doubt wanted to know how the operation was going to play out. It was ironic: information retrieved from the Humans suggested that they did not discuss important military operations with simple soldiers. Vale suspected this was due to the Humans' inner conflict.

"Which ships will be assigned to attack the device? When will the operation commence? Will you be leading the operation?" Skae laid out his questions for Vale to answer. They were simple questions that any reasonable warrior would have.

Skae had curiosity in his eyes as he clicked his mandibles in eagerness as Vale shifted leaned forward to explain. _(Difficult questions for an inexperienced military Commander that has not already figured out his plan. But not for me. I have already planned this out) _"The _Condolence _Will be leading a detachment consisting of two of the three remaining Corvettes, nine frigates, four of the CCS-Class Battlecruisers, and one of the CRS-Class light cruisers." Skae took a sip out of his goblet as he listened to Vale continue

"So a large amount of the fleet on Halo. But I do not believe reconnaissance to be a priority until the device is destroyed, and the rest of the fleet can enter through the space/sky border. The operation itself shall start in about two more units; that is when the detachment will begin making their way to the device. And I will not be personally commanding it; that is Ship-Master Sek 'Moramees' task. I would be leading the operation if I could trust the Prophet of Pity not to execute anyone while I was absent."

Careekius let out a roar of laughter while Skae clicked his mandibles in amusement. _(I was not jesting) _"I had no intentions off jesting," Vale informed them in an indifferent tone "And although I understand your amusement; I was serious."

Skaes' grin formed by his mandibles quickly disappeared with Careekius choking off his laughter before swiping up his goblet and taking a nervous sip. But despite this, Vale was not going to make a move to reassure them that he was fine with their amusement. Because although he understood it, he did not appreciate it.

Finally after a few moments of awkward silence, Skae spoke up "Forgive me, Fleet-Master. I had no intentions on making offense."

_(I suppose now that he has brought it up, I should reassure them) _"There was no offense; amusement and humor is a natural instinct," Vale gestured his hand in reassurance "And what I spoke was amusing to your minds, so you showed your amusement; for it is unnatural to hide amusement in fear of wraith. If a person does not like someone finding amusement in what he says, he should watch his words more correctly other than punishing the one who showed their amusement."

Careekius was about to respond with something when his eyes diverted to the same site Vale was seeing: The Captain Ultras had gotten up from their tables, and were making their way over to them. _(So goes my chain of peaceful meals) _Vale made no move to get up, and simply watched the captain Ultras' approach why fixing his eyes on Skaes to tell him with no words what was happening while also telling him not to turn around. Vale had learnt a long time ago that eyes tell people something as much as words could.

"What do you want?" Careekius questioned his pack members in a tone of irritation. Vale was hoping that Careekius would speak to them first to prevent any awkwardness.

"The Prophet of Pity has called upon the Fleet-Master to have his beating for disrespect continued," One of the Captain Ultras said. _(Why wait so long?) _"And has called upon the Chieftain to continue the beating. He has also ordered us to escort the Heretic to his execution."

_(Skae?)_ Vale calmly shifted his legs over the bench and got up with Careekius doing the same while wearing a face of anger "You must had not been informed; the Prophet of Pity has forgiven Skae 'Kuzomee for his false crimes." Vale calmly reminded the Captain Ultras while clicking his mandibles together in irritation.

The captain Ultras both turned their heads to gaze at each other before turning their heads back to face them "After dwelling on what he had said, the Prophet of Pity decided he was too merciful," The second Captain Ultra informed them with Vale gritting his mandibles together while he saw Careekius shake his head in annoyance from the corner of his eye "The Heretic is to be executed immediately."

Vale calmly waved for Skae to get up with a flash of worry appearing on his face. Vale then cocked his head around to gaze at the Jiralhanae "Skae 'Kuzomee is not a Heretic. He has been proven innocent of attempting to assassinate the Prophet of Pity -a degrading accusation- and is free to continue with his assigned duties."

"The Prophet of Pity has ordered us to execute you on the spot if you attempt to resist his orders." The second Captain Ultra warned him.

_(Really? Is he so foolish? The council will have his head if I am executed for such a farce) _Vale shook his head in annoyance "I am well within my rights to resist the Prophet of Pity, and even detain him if he persists; the council would not tolerate my execution over the Prophet of Pitys' blinding arrogance."

The Captain Ultras almost jumped at Vales' blunt words "It is heresy to speak like that." The first Captain Ultra warned him.

_(No it is not) _Vale shook his head in disagreement "The entire Covenant are not afraid to announce their verbal agreement; it is a fact that the Prophet of Pity is arrogant beyond belief," Vale then parted his arms as if saying "Come and get me" as a crowd began to form around them "Care to test your spot on the path by attempting to execute me?" Vales' eyes turned to pure coldness "The Council will have your heads if you lay _but one _finger on me."

The Sangheili in the crowd began to draw their energy swords and prepared to attack the Captain Ultras if they had to why Skae calmly moved out-of-the-way before drawing his own energy sword. Careekius just stood still with disbelief and amusement on his face.

The Captain Ultras' turned their heads around to gaze at each other before nodding to each other and turning around to make their way back to the Prophet of Pity to report their failure. Doing that would be dangerous for them, so Vale decided to speak out "Wait," The two Captain Ultras halted and turned their heads around to face him "The Prophet of Pity will have you executed on the spot for your failure. So I will go with you to prevent that; Chieftain, Skae, you should come as well."

Skae nodded in compliance and calmly made his way around the table and over to Vale while Careekius made his way around the table to join his pack members.

_(At least they let me finish my meal before starting this farce) _Vale shook his head in annoyance as he began to make his way through the parting crowd with Skae on his trail while Careekius and the Captain Ultras' continued to move ahead of them; the Captain Ultras not daring to turn around to face Vale -as it should be.

* * *

The group finally arrived at the Prophet of Pitys' quarters.

It was not actually the Prophet of Pitys' quarters but more of Vales' quarters. But it was custom for a Commander to give up his quarters to a Prophet if a Prophet was to take passage on their ship. Vale had no problem with giving his room over to the Prophet of Pity, but he did have a problem with the redesigning the Prophet had done over the years that signified that he was planning on staying for a long, _long _time.

The doors hissed opened as they neared it, and they entered into the round small round chamber that served as the quarters by descending the few steps that Vale never found any point to.

The Prophet of Pity per usual was reading a scroll. But put it down when he heard the door hiss opened to turn and see that Skae was with them, and had almost screamed in shock "_YOU FOOLS! YOU BRING THE ASSASSIN NEAR ME -THE HOLY PROPHET OF PIT?! GET HIM AWAY FROM ME -THE HOLY PROPHET OF PITY! GET HIM AWAY FROM ME -THE HOLY PROPHET OF PITY!_"

_(My mind hurts) _Vale clicked his mandibles together in annoyance at the Prophet of Pitys' stupidity and the pain that was washing over his mind at the screaming that his mind should had adapted to resist.

"I bought Skae 'Kuzomee here to be reinstated along the blessed path." Vale clicked his mandibles in explanation with the Prophet of Pity slamming his hands down onto his anti-gravity thrones armrests.

"_WHY WOULD I -THE HOLY PROPHET OF PITY- GIVE SUCH AN HONOR TO AN ASSASSIN WHO ATTEMPTED TO ASSASSINATE ME -THE HOLY PROPHET OF PITY?!_"

Vales' mandibles began to twitch in annoyance. _(This farce is irritating) _"Because he did not attempt to assassinate you."

The Prophet of Pity started breathing heavily; venting his anger "You know," The Prophet of Pity chuckled "I -the holy Prophet of Pity- _actually __knew _this would happen. _(I doubt that) _That is why I -the holy Prophet of Pity- took the precautions."

Vale heard the familiar sound of a Type-52 Mauler firing, and snapped his body around to see a couple of Jiralhanae Stalkers uncloaking, and a large gaping hole in Skae 'Kuzomees' head with purple blood gushing out. _(NO!) _Vale let out a roar of shock and anger as he ran to attack the Stalkers but only to have something hit him in the back of his head before he could even move, and to have him fall to the ground to see that a Stalker had ambushed him from behind.

"_Holy Prophet of Pity!_ _What is the meaning of this?!_" Vale heard Careekius exclaim in shock while also hearing shots go off with Sangheili roars which must had meant that the Stalkers were executing the Honor Guards. _(By the Gods! Is he really so foolish?!) _

Vale let out a pained grunt, but found that he could not moved. It was likely that he was paralyzed; Stalkers were trained to do so for their covert missions and operations.

"_SILENT!_" The Prophet of Pity screamed at Careekius "You will now beat the Fleet-Master until he dies. Resistance will be met with execution and removal from the path."

Careekius let out a reluctant grunt. _(Do it!) _Vale wanted to desperately tell Careekius to ignore any personal feelings he had, and beat him. Vale would not die, he knew that other would had heard the weapon fire and roars, and would come to see what was happening. Vale would then detain the Prophet of Pity for murder and heresy along with many other crimes.

"Your word is the Gods' will." Careekius reluctantly gave in and approached Vale where he quickly landed a heavy kick into Vales' ribs; sending pain rocking through Vales' body. He than quickly landed another kick into Vales' ribs as the Prophet of Pity let out a loud giggle of amusement.

_(This will not go unanswered; I will have your head mounted on a spike for all the Covenant to see. Skae, I promise you vengeance) _

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: My thanks goes out to my readers and followers.**

**ArmoredFury, I am so sorry for killing your OC off! But fear not, for even in death your character will have a major impact on Vale and his journey. Not to mention that since Vale knows a lot about Skae's past there will still be character development.**

**Also, I'm sorry for the wait. I had real life to deal with, and I had to redo a lot of this chapter quite a bit to make it what I wanted. Also, I apologize if the dialogue between characters is very bland. To be honest, I am not very good at writing dialogue. But I personally believe I am getting better over time.**

**Since I believe that this chapter will make this FanFic reach 100 reviews, I plan on working on a special next. I got the idea on celebrating 100 reviews from Fleightedfire. And I am very excited about what I am planning. But I won't tell you what I'm planning, you'll just have to wait and see ;)**

**I'm also planning on changing my writing style from a narrative perspective to the actual perspective of the character; similar to that in the prologues. I think this might give more insight in what the character is actually thinking, and will introduce more detail. Since I'm an aspiring writer (One of my many dreams) I find it's alright to experiment. So this FanFic is sort of an experiment, so my writing style and that may change a bit as I adapt to what suits me. If you don't like it, then you likely haven't reached this A/N because you would've quit long ago.**

**************************************************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, THE REVIEWING MASTER,**** gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7, goldmonk, ArmoredFury, Mumble8, ultimate idiot, SpeedyNaomi, Hunter092, ShootingKill, hi ace50, SomeRelic, Pure Onyx.**


	24. Special One: The Deceased: Part One

**[ SPECIAL ONE: THE DECEASED: PART ONE ****]****  
**

First off: I AM SO, SO SORRY FOR THE LONG DAMN WAIT!

Real life stuff has been a large obstacle, and there was another thing that provided trouble that I will soon elaborate on.

As I am writing this, I have 104 reviews. And since I have reached the milestone of 100 reviews, I decided to do a simple special, though it was anything but simple. My original plans for this special was to have a couple of one-shots focusing on the POVs of each significant character that has died so far. But I found it increasingly hard to focus and work out small story-lines for the several characters, and it got so bad that I hardly got anything done during the time I had to work on this special because I spent too much time thinking about what I was going to do for the characters.

So I ultimately decided to scrap the whole thing -the whole thing was over 8000 words- and restart. But instead of doing one-shots that focuses on the POV of the characters, I would instead do something like letters or messages or documents to develop a bit of the character's back-stories, similar to Conversations from the Universe booklet that came with the Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition.  
I hope this will work out better than my original plans, and I apologize for the length of this chapter if it seems horrifically shorter for the amount of time it has taken me to submit it, and if I manage to get it done quickly, I may consider doing it again when I reach 200 reviews (That's right! More will die before this story is up! Ba! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!)

I am honestly, extremely grateful for all your reviews! 100 reviews is a milestone for any FanFic writer -big or small! And it's your continuous support that makes me want to continue because I wouldn't want to continue if I found that no one was really enjoying this, and I would just scrap it. So I thank you all for your reviews and kind words!

Now, you don't have to read this special, of course. But it is highly recommended for those who want to learn a bit more about certain characters and their motives behind some of the actions they did

PS. I fixed a plot-hole that stated that Thel 'Lodamee put Doctor Halsey to sleep with anesthetics before putting her into cryo sleep. This is false to the lore which dictates that Halsey was already in cryo sleep when Thel 'Lodamee captured her. I apologize for these plot-holes centered around the Battle of Miridem, but the battle isn't clearly recorded in the Halo lore, and the original Halo wiki that I used to research the battle didn't go into as much detail as another wiki that I'm currently using that goes into a lot more detail.

Now, start reading, loyal readers!

* * *

**Urse 'Vadamee...**

* * *

_To thine own eyes: Fleet-Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee._

_Fleet-Master, what your eyes behold is the full assessment on Sangheili Minor Urse 'Vadamee.  
I hope these details will assure you that he is worthy to be a member of your task team of the Ministry of Reliquary __Dominion._

_Urse 'Vadamee was born in Vadam Keep in the State Vadam on the continent of Yermo on the Sangheili home-world of Sanghelios.  
__He was raised by his maternal uncle Ave 'Vadamee, and, along with every other child of Vadam Keep, was tutored by his uncle in Sangheili history and culture while trained, along with every other child of Vadam Keep, in the art of war by Lak 'Vadamee, a prime Zealot in his time.  
__At an early age, Urse showed signs of being a great soldier; excelling in all his lessons and training, and defeating all his training comrades in battle while always completing lessons before anyone else._

_With such a successful young life in his history, it would had been expected for him to go far in the military. That was, however, not the case, for Urse 'Vadamee, while effective, could not pass the rank of Minor due to his own personal tactics. _

_While in combat, he engaged the Humans from behind cover, and never charged them. While this was effective at keeping him alive, it also prevented him from receiving praise from his superiors, and they called him a coward who did no have the heart to die honorably, even though he has killed many Humans with his tactical style.  
__But due to his tactical style appearing more and more like he was a skilled in ranged combat, two cycles ago he was recommended as a sniper for a reconnaissance team, and was gladly excepted.  
__Now in a position he was comfortable with, Urse 'Vadamee surprisingly excelled as a sniper. Though he still never passed the rank of Minor due to his recon team leader's dislike of him.  
The recon team leader has since been executed for the crime of letting personal conflicts divide loyalties, a very serious crime.  
__With his team under a new command, he served in the recon team for another three segments before we recruited him._

_His combat record shows that he has killed three hundred and ninety-four Humans with a type-50 particle beam rifle.  
Three hundred and twenty-eight of which were killed with a fatal head-shot._

_This is what gained my interest in him, for there was hardly any sniper in the Covenant military, other than a Kig-Yar, that could match his sniping skills. And as the recon missions he was sent on got less dangerous, and his role was lessened, he was a prime target to take with no negative consequences to appear out of our decision to choose him._

_Now, with such a great record, I hope you agree on our decision._

_He is currently being briefed on his task at High Charity, and should be transferred to your fleet within the next mini-segment. _

_By my own hands: Minister of Reliquary Dominion._

* * *

_To thine own eyes: Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee._

_Thel, it has been a while, but know that I have yet to forget about you._

_As an older sibling would do for a younger sibling, you always advised in your spare time, always assisted me with the lessons that Lak would instruct upon me.  
I do not believe I have ever properly thanked you for your advising of me.  
It is because of you that I have been reassigned to an elite team of operatives under the command of the Ministry of Reliquary Dominion. And this is not the greatest of the news.  
The greatest of the news is that I will be serving under the one and only Fleet-Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee, your close friend._

_You always used to send me letters about Fleet-Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee; telling me how you admired and respected him as a military Commander who was a master of strategy and tactics. And how he may one day rival your own renown._

_Dearest brother, it has been years since me have seen each other. And I say without hesitation that I miss you.  
As much as my uncle and Lak raised me, you helped me so as well. And I was overjoyed when I heard that you were elected as Kaidon.  
_

_I hope that we soon will see each other again.  
I have heard tales of your feats against the Humans, and your skills at cleansing them.  
You are without a doubt one of the greatest Sangheili that are currently living. And it is an absolute honor to call you friend. But I just hope to the Gods that you still call me friend in turn._

_I also must mention my faith in you.  
We are only discovering Human planets through your efforts. And if your skills at exploration are as good as the tales say, then I have no doubt in my mind that you will lead us to the Halo rings, and start the Great Journey._

_The cycles are long, and the war against the Humans has raged for many of these long cycles. But I have faith that you will be the one to end this war, and cleanse the Humans from this Universe, and start the Great Journey._

_Do not be afraid to make my faith in vain.  
Whether or not you cleanse the Humans or start the Great Journey does not matter to me. For you will always be my brother, whether we are of the same blood or not._

_By my own hands: Minor Urse 'Vadamee._

* * *

**_Even the people you know little of could be in someway close to heroes._**

* * *

**Rek 'Galravee...**

* * *

_To thine own eyes: Rek 'Galravee._

_Usually the task with securing Forerunner installations, facilities, structures or recovering Forerunner artifacts comes down to the responsibility of the Ministry of Fervent Intercession.  
__But several Zealots leading a small team of __elites from __various other Covenant race's would not be able to defeat the often large detachments that the heretical Humans send to guard said artifacts or facilities._

_This is where the Ministry of Reliquary Dominion comes into effect.  
Albeit the teams of the Ministry do not consist of many Zealots, it does consist of various elite warriors from all stretches of the Covenant Empire.  
__But with not many Zealots to uphold the legally discreet operations that the teams of the Ministry of Reliquary Dominion partake in, there is the chance of the purity of the holy Covenant religion coming at risk._

_This is where the Ministry of Abnegation will come into play, Rek Galravee._

_You have served as a loyal Ascetic for many cycles. But now, I must task you with a difficult mission.  
I have gotten the Hierarchs permission to forge you a combat history record in order to get you assigned to one of the many teams serving under the Ministry of Reliquary Dominion.  
Fear not, you are not the only Ascetic to be assigned to a team; there will be a single Ascetic assigned to each team under the service of the Ministry of Reliquary Dominion._

_The Ministry of Reliquary Dominion are fully aware of this operation, of course. But that is where it ends.  
Only Hierarchs, me and Vice Minister of Abnegation and Minister and Vice Minister of Reliquary Dominion, and the Ascetics participating know about this operation. And it is to stay this way under the punishment of execution._

_Your combat history report states that you are a Veteran Major who has killed countless Humans, an expert leader, and a prime swordsmen.  
Thankfully these reflect on your own skills as an expert leader of Ascetic detachments, and an expert swordsmen._

_With these major details being heeded by you, I will send the rest of your forged combat history report withing the next rotation.  
In the mean time, you are to prepare yourself for this task_

_By my own hands: Minister of Abnegation._

* * *

_For the eyes of my sibling: Rez 'Galravee._

_What does it take to be a warrior?_

_Commitment? loyalty? honor?_

_We Sangheili are sworn to protect the San 'Shyuum, and uphold the Covenant until our dying breath._

_I shall repeat the ancient sermon that we Sangheili have taken as our definition._

_"All who walk the blessed path will find salvation... even in death."_

_"This was the Prophets age-old promise that shall be __fulfilled._

_And we fought hard for this promise, for we lived by the creed that said "Station and Salvation both commanded a heavy price."_

_But we gripped our blades and told those who feared the darkness "Out of the darkness, these blades will light our way." And to that, they ceased their fear, knowing that the Sangheili would safeguard those who walk the blessed path._

_We stood behind the Prophets and prayed "Glory and honor guide our ascension," which the Prophets turned to look at those behind them, and thanked us for our loyalty._

_And what loyalty we had for the Prophets, for every Sangheili remembers the words "__On the blood of our fathers. On the blood of our sons. We swore to uphold the Covenant!"_

___But the Prophets responded with out loyalty with a simple sentence that defined the Covenant "__The true devotee honors our name with actions, not words."_

_So we fought to uphold the Prophets words on the battlefield. Why the battlefield? Because we remember the Sangheili philosophy "Victory is secured, not from the throne, but from the front lines."_

_____We fought and died for the holy Prophets. And how we let blood spill in their name. And for our service, they honored us with but a few words which defined us ever onward "__With this sacrament of blood we journey into the Divine Beyond."_

_With the spilling of our blood being noticed by the Gods, our path on the Great Journey was secure."_

_Remember when our uncle use to tell us this each night? It was a lie._

_I do hope that I may be able to see you again one rotation, and that you would have understood._

_The Covenant, the Forerunners, the Prophets, the Writ of Union, the Great Journey, the Humans, and even our own race, the Sangheili, has all been a lie.  
_

_We have been deceived, used, and lied to for cycles upon cycles. And the only thing that has prevented me from killing myself is my loyalty to Thel 'Lodamee. And while I have yet to tell him of my role as an Ascetic who was tasked to spy on him, I know that he will forgive me; he is smart, he likely already knows that I was a spy._

_I spent so long in the Ascetics. But now I realize what it takes to be a warrior. And I realize that I was born to be a warrior, and it is my destiny to stand on the front-lines of the genocide of the San 'Shyuum; not the Humans._

_I only hope that we can expose the truth in time. And since I will not be able to see you for a while after the truth is revealed, I will send this message instead._

_I decided to write this letter before we exposed the truth, while we were waiting for salvation on a Halo ring, to make sure this message was ready for when the time came for me to send it to you._

_Know that I miss you, and I want nothing more than to be with you when you find out the truth, and to assure you that it will be okay._

_As I write this, I am a warrior._

_I hope to see you soon: Major Rek 'Galravee, a sibling, a knower of the truth, and a warrior._

* * *

**_It takes a soul to be a warrior. A soul that will be scared over betrayal._**

* * *

**Sheila-065...**

* * *

[RECORD: [Dr. Catherine. E . Halsey: SN: CC-409871] No. 0185 [2519: 34/09/1026/21s]

[TOPIC: Sierra: Sheila-065, Sierra: Red-098's relationship]

[SITUATION: BRAVO 17]

[CLASSIFIED: ALPHA ONE: ONI-SEC-PRTCL-1A]

[RECORD: BEGIN]

_Red's recent actions have yielded even more negative consequences for himself..._

_All the other SPARTAN-IIs refuse to interact or even speak with Red out of hate... All except Sheila -who is by far Red's closet friend. _

_Jorge -another one of Red's closest friends- has also chosen not to speak to Red... but knowing Jorge he will eventually choose to speak to Red soon. The rest will take... longer._

_But what interests me is Red and Sheila's relationship... Sheila thinks of every SPARTAN as her siblings due to her idea on the "SPARTAN family" while Red thinks everyone as his comrades -except Sheila and Jorge who he considers a close friend._

_But I have feeling that Sheila is... more to him than just a "Friend" Of course, he might have a crush on her which I greatly disapprove- no... that's not it... Red isn't the type, and it goes against his desire to "Become a machine to spite me"_

_He opens up to Sheila because of his fraternal sister. And I have confirmed through Courtney Jsarez's file that she looks... "similar" to Sheila._

_So... this is why Red seems to open up to her -and I mean open up to her literally which I can confirm via the cameras set up in the barracks, and what Red has been saying to Sheila._

_Red seems to confine himself to the barracks when he isn't training... and Sheila often does so too._

_And what they talk about surprises me of what people of their age usually talk about. This is evidence that the SPARTANs have matured more than any other child of their age._

_One of the first things Sheila asked Red after the incident was -and I quote "Why'd you do it?" Red then responded with -again, quote "To spite her... to spite Doctor Halsey. She can't have it both her ways; she can't have me as a killing machine who will do what he is ordered without question, and hope for me to remain Human."_

_I have no doubt that Red knows of the cameras set up in the barracks, and it is possible that he is speaking to me through Sheila. But I seriously doubt that over the other conversations he has had with Sheila that seems irrelevant for me to hear._

_Sheila often reassures Red that the rest of the SPARTANs will speak to him again... But he just "Shrugs it off" saying: "I don't care if they speak to me; they're stupid enough to be brainwashed by Halsey's bullshit, so I don't care about them."_

_Again, his wording makes him sound a lot older than he is. And it upsets me at the though of me brainwashing them... They were... irrelevant._

_Often Red will return to the barracks after receiving physical discipline from Mendez, he will immediately fall asleep after chatting a bit with Sheila about training and other stuff -relevant to the SPARTAN-II Program, that is; I could not imagine the SPARTANs talking about anything else. And when Red had fallen asleep, Sheila would proceed to... examine Red's bruises __for damage __as he sleeps -even though she knows the medics would had already examined him..._

_I find this touching to some extent. Even though Sheila has been... "Brainwashed" by the SPARTAN-II Program, and is -in Red's opinion- an idiot, she still cares deeply for him..._

_But what is the prime thing of my interest here is how Red is opening up to Sheila; telling her how he feels, what he thinks, etc... There is currently no records of him doing so with anyone else... And he won't even talk to Mendez about his emotions -which Mendez endorse for the SPARTANs to do so, but most of the SPARTANs talk to me instead._

_I won't approach Sheila and ask he to spy on Red -so don't ask me to; I don't want to put her in an uncomfortable position, and I don't need to since the only time Red opens up to Sheila is when they are alone in the barracks where I can monitor them..._

_...Hmm... "Brainwash?"... I'm a mother to every SPARTAN... but Red -who thinks me a monster... I had this coming._

[RECORD: END]

* * *

[MJOLNIR MARK IV: HUD89RS: 2544/3/6/1037/49s: ALERT: Sierra-065 Status-KIA: Recording End: 57s]

Unknown Major Class Elite: Search the area for survivors, and look for that Human female.

_Distant Unknown Class Elites scatter out searching for Human survivors while Unknown Major Class Elite deactivates Type-1 energy sword and holsters it on right thigh before kneeling next to body of Sierra-065._

Unknown Major Class Elite: Why did you have not the honor to fight me? You may have beaten me if you did.

_Unknown Major Class Elite pushes up on its' knees to stand up before walking two feet away from the body of Sierra-065 before turning around to gaze upon the body of Sierra-065._

Unknown Major Class Elite: The mythical Demons can be killed so easily? Or are you the weak one of the pack? No, a Demon cannot be weak. But I will not say that I am powerful enough to best one. Something I may dwell on... perhaps...

_Unknown Major Class Elite clicks its' mandibles in confusion before rubbing them with its' left hand, possibly musing._

Unknown Major Class Elite: It is wrong to talk to your dead comrades -let alone talk to your dead enemy. And especially so if that enemy is a soulless Demon built only to halt the Great Journey. But why do I feel so inclined to speak to you? Why do I care?

_Unknown Major Class Elite moves back over to body of Sierra-065 and kneels over the body of Sierra-065 again._

Unknown Major Class Elite: I must be disappointed that you did not kill me; why? Not because I wanted to die. But because you strike fear into the heart of the Covenant. And I -a simple Major- defeated you easily... I hope whatever hell you are burning in that you-

[RECORD: END]

* * *

_**Can you forgive one who killed someone you loved?... He can't.**_

* * *

**Literus...**

* * *

_To thine own eyes: Chieftain Literus._

_Chieftain, upon hearing of your unflinching loyalty to us, the Prophets and voice of the Gods, I, the holy Prophet of Pity, deemed it necessary to inform you of a dire truth.  
__The Forerunners, our Gods, made a mistake. They did not pick the members of the Covenant as the Reclaimers, but they chose the Humans, a mistake we must pay for.  
The reason we went to war with Humanity is not because of them desecrating our God's artifacts that they left behind, oh no, it is because the Forerunners have told us of their mistake, and wish us to end Humanity before we begin the Great Journey._

_Now, we of course could inform the Covenant of this. But how might the Sangheili react? They will no doubt want to contact the Humans themselves; observe and study them to see if what we say is the truth.  
We also can not tell them now after so long of keeping it a secret._

_So there is only one option, the Jiralhanae._

_The Sangheili are loyal, but they will break their loyalty to the Covenant at a moments notice if they be us to of betrayed them.  
That leads to the ultimate sacrifice; the Sangheili must one day, before the Great Journey starts, be forcefully removed from the path, and replaced by your race.  
It is no secret that few Jiralhanae follow the Covenant religion. But those who do will still reach Paradise and be saved from this doomed existence.  
Due to your race's loyalty to us over anything else, I, the holy Prophet of Pity, have deemed it necessary to inform to of your future value.  
You are my, the holy Prophet of Pity's, most treasured instrument. And while the High Prophet of Truth may wish me dead for me, the holy Prophet of Pity, telling you this, I, the holy Prophet of Pity, already see that you are loyal, and find it unnecessary to wait any longer._

_I, the holy Prophet of Pity, order you to keep this valuable information to yourself and your most trusted members of your pack along with those who are to guard me._

_I, the holy Prophet of Pity, also order you to calm your aggression; especially since I, the holy Prophet of Pity, and you and your pack are being assigned to the Second Fleet of Divine Trinity which is being led by a Sangheili who is renowned for his misplaced compassion for the lesser races of this holy Covenant.  
Although I, the holy Prophet of Pity, do not blame you for your much understood rage from your personal past, I, the holy Prophet of Pity, do ask you to maintain it a bit better for the Fleet-Master of this fleet may ask questions that will leave him with little respect, for even I, the holy Prophet of Pity, will admit that your past is too dark for the weak._

_I, the holy Prophet of Pity, bid you good tidings for this rotation. And I, the holy Prophet of Pity, demand that you heed my, the holy Prophet of Pity's, words accordingly._

_By my, the holy Prophet of Pity's, own hands: the noble and most holy Prophet of Pity._

* * *

_**Misplacing your trust is easy. But learn how to avoid doing so from the previous misplacements.**_

* * *

**Var 'Lultamee..**

* * *

_To thine own eyes: Mind-Tender Merek 'Susamee_

_Let begin first off by saying that it is a great dishonor on my part to be contacting you. But Fleet-Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee has assured me that no dishonor will come out of contacting you for this problem of mine, and I am inclined to believe him.  
Still, as a Mind-Tender, I order you to keep what will be spoken between us to yourself.  
Failing to comply with my request will be met with legal execution for betrayal of subjects' trust._

_As you may had heard, not a mini-segment ago, Ultra Thel 'Lodamee and his team under the service of the Ministry of Reliquary Dominion went missing.  
I personally did not like the Ultra. But that does not make me un-sympathetic to him; he is still my brother along the path, and comrade.  
Two rotations after the team went missing, I was making my way through a corridor to the Fleet-Master's quarters when I overheard three Unggoy maintenance workers jesting about the teams' possible fate in a mocking manner.  
This enraged me so that I killed the three Unggoy while also killing the nearby innocent Unggoy during my blinding rage._

_The Fleet-Master has informed me of his disappointment in me, and has requested that I receive aid in controlling my anger.  
I initially refused due to the dishonor of it. But eventually accepted after he stated that he would have no choice but to assign me back to High Charity if I was to refuse, and assured me that there is no dishonor in asking for help with mind problems._

_So heeding his words, I have sent this message requesting your guidance and other various methods of assistance.  
I will follow through with all the necessary tasks to cleanse my mind of this fault, and ask that you reply with a designated time and date that we may meet and begin the process of mind cleansing._

_By my own hands: Zealot Var 'Lultamee._

* * *

_To thine own eyes: noble and most holy Prophet of Pity._

_Noble and most holy Prophet of Pity, voice of the Covenant and our Gods, this is my report on the execution of the bastard Zealot: Var Lultamee._

_He put up a worthy fight for his pathetic race. But I shall explain the fight soon._

_Let me start at the beginning._

_I was rather surprised to see him enter the Forerunner compound that surrounded the base of the floating tower that was beautiful to gaze at. And I realized that your efforts to prevent any Sangheili from entering the compound must had, with all respect, failed._

_Fear not, for I handled the Sangheili bastard with care._

_Upon entering the compound, he approached me and I informed him of where we gathered and stacked the bodies of the Heretics. And after scolding me for such disrespect as to touch a Sangheili body, he proceeded into the Forerunner facility where I had my men stack the bodies of the Heretics, and I ordered my follow pack members follow closely suit._

_As me and my follow pack members entered the single room in the facility that we gathered and stacked the bodies in, we saw that the Zealot was standing over the body of a Major class Sangheili who was almost split in half by a plasma mortar, and had shock on his ugly face. _

_He then turned to us and, in his words, said "So, that is how it is, you barbarian bastards." The Zealot then wasted no time in drawing his energy sword and attacking us, dodging the projectiles from our weapons with his speed._

_But since he only had a sword, he had to get close to us to attack us. And with that in mind, I ordered my follow pack members to attack him in unison. This proved to be successful as we managed to knock him over. One of my follow pack members managed to hold his arm down as we laid punches into him to drain his energy shields before I executed him with a single punch to the head, smashing his skull._

_The lasting casualties on our side were five of my follow pack members, but I can easily pass them off as some of the warriors that participated in the battle with the Heretics._

_As per instructed, we did not kill him with any weaponry, and only used spikers and maulers to try and bring his shields down from range, but ultimately did not use them for very long before we managed to bring him down._

_After he was killed, we discreetly moved his body to a Guider where we transported him two units away from the tower where me and four of my follow pack members feasted on his flesh, and buried his bones._

_All of the Heretic's bodies have since been destroyed by plasma melting; there is no remaining evidence. This is as per law for Heretic bodies, and the Fleet-Master should not raise any questions about it._

_I hope I did everything according to your instructions, and ask that if I did something wrong, you only punish me and not my follow pack members who assisted me as they were only following my orders, and did nothing wrong._

_By my own hands: Captain Ultra Barrakus._

* * *

**_Things change over time. So never presume to think things have stayed the same; no matter how short the time has been._**

* * *

**Jol 'Turasee...**

* * *

_To thine own eyes: Lyai 'Turasee._

_It has been eighteen cycles, has it not?_

_I miss you dearly, I miss the little amount of time we spent together._

_While many Sangheili do not become husband and wife for love but to continue their line, I believe that you chose me as a husband out of the love we share deeply with each other. _

_All those times we used to embrace each other on the beach near our hut just outside the Keep as the sun of Sanghelios set still lingers eagerly in my mind. And it reassures me that we will someday continue the trend._

_But there is the strong possibility of me being killed in combat against the Humans, as I have said so many times before in messages to you. And if that comes to pass, do not lose yourself in grief. Instead, look forward eagerly for the Great Journey's start where we will see each other again in Paradise._

_But I sincerely hope that this does not come to pass. Because as you said, the Great Journey may not start for many, many cycles yet, and you may face the Eternal Darkness yourself before the Great Journey begins._

_I remember how you made me promise to return back to Sanghelios to be with you. And I will never give up on that promise. Albeit my duty comes first, I will always do my best to survive this great war._

_I hope you will reply, and tell me how your mother has been._

_I remember when your mother used to dislike me because of your decision for a union between us. And how your mother would have preferred you to become the wife of one of the many Ultras that were offering themselves to you._

_But never forget how happy I am that you accepted me over a high position. And I am glad that, after so long, your mother finally came to respect and like me. I just wish I could have spent more time with her before my deployment, for she was a lovely female, and she had a beautiful daughter._

_Now, I should mention some exciting news. _

_Due to my tactical prowess on the battlefield, I have been recruited by the Ministry of Reliquary Dominion to serve on a team of elite Covenant warriors that will be tasked with securing Forerunner facilities or artifacts if there are too many Humans guarding the facilities and artifacts for a Zealot team from the Ministry of Fervent Intercession to handle. _

_It does not end there as I will also be serving in the Second Fleet of Divine Trinity, under the command of Vale Nar 'Sarasee, one of the most skillful strategic tacticians in the Covenant Empire._

_I do not know if I shall get to meet him personally, but it matters not; I shall still get just as much praise from the members of the Keep back home for just serving under him._

_I hope you are proud of me. And I cannot wait to see you again, and hold you under Sanghelios's sun as I always do._

_By my own hands: Minor Jol 'Turasee._

* * *

**_Even the most minor of sins can have far reaching consequences (Foreshadow)_**

* * *

**Malcolm Smith...**

* * *

(..[UNSC Transmission]-[CODE-68388-290-80014-MK]..)

(..[ENCRYPTION CODE:]-[CHARLIE HOTEL]..)

(..[PUBLIC KEY]-[File/ OCTOBER-Eight-Two-Five-Six-One]..)

(..[DATE:]-[4/11/2547]..)

(..[FROM:]-[Captain Courtney Jsarez]-[SN:24030-55578-CJ]-[UNSCMID: 141592610]..)

(..[TO:]-[Rear Admiral: Henry Nathan]-[SN:73912-61630-HN]-[UNSCMID: 831740218]..)

(..[SUBJECT:]-[Corporal Malcolm Smith]..)

(..[CLASSIFICATION:]-[EYES-ONLY]-[Title II, Subtitle C, Sec. 312]

[TRANSMISSION:]-[BEGIN]

_Admiral, unfortunately the Universe is smaller than I'd like, so it was only a matter of time until we were assigned to assist in the EVAC of civilians from a minor planet that one of my Marine's families resided on._

_The Covenant's attack on Quaint is lethal, effective, and won't last much longer; their Commander must know what it's doing. _

_And the EVAC of civilians planet-side is not going well with the Covenant putting down tremendous pressure on our ground-forces located within the cities, and shooting EVAC shuttles out of the sky as soon as they leave their hangers, bays, compounds, ect._

_One such shuttle contained the family of Corporal Malcolm Smith._

_Malcolm Smith's family that were killed consisted of his mother and father -aged 54 and 53- Smith's aunt -aged 50- her daughter -aged 31- Smith's wife -aged 31- and his two sons -aged 13 and 15._

_Upon hearing of his families demise, he acted to the contrary of what an effective soldier should act like; breaking down __emotionally, screaming and yelling his lunges out, lashing out physically at his teammates, etc._

_Of course I can't blame him from breaking down at the news immediately upon hearing it. But he could had done something better than attacking the teammates who tried to comfort him, or lock himself in the bathroom where he threatened to kill anyone__ who tried to break in__ with his M6C PDW._

_Corporal Malcolm Smith has since been apprehended, and I have agreed with my COs to let him continue service due to him calming down over the twenty-four hours he was held in solitary confinement._

_He has since reduced his aggression greatly, and confined himself for his breakdowns. But he keeps requesting that he is sent ground-side to engage Covenant ground-forces. _

_I denied his requests, of course. At least up until this morning when I was ordered -by you- to send my Marines planet-side to engage the Covenant occupying the city of Reaztine._

_I have since received disturbing reports that Smith has been reckless in combat, and has even mutilated Covenant corpses during the time he is not engaged in combat__._

_This disturbs me greatly, and I believe he has PTSD and other various psychological problems due to his family's demise._

_I have sent this transmission in advance of my request to have Corporal Malcolm Smith removed from service and counseled ASAP. And I recommend that you approve of my request before the consequences of letting him continue serving the UNSCDF surface._

[TRANSMISSION]-[END]

* * *

_**All sins a person inflicts is born of sins inflicted on that person themselves.**_

* * *

**May Christina...**

* * *

_I may be laying in my bed, dying. But I still have the strength to use my damned cyber hand I have._

_Speaking of cyber hand: the murder of that Mob Boss cunt by the name of "Alphonsai" Was issued by me; that's right, I hired and paid an assassin. That's what people get when they have my hand cut off after I accidentally hurt their cock while giving them a handjob._

_I was once a whore... a prostitute. Amazingly enough I was also once a teacher -a bad teacher at that. But I don't care if I was a bad teacher; I got the cocks of young, horny stud muffins and teachers shoved up my hole._

_Those were the good old days. Now I here I am, dying like the fucking old cunt I am. And I bet those reading this are expecting something nice in my will?_

_Nope! All my fortune and property is going to my favorite stud -who is already rich as fuck, and isn't complaining. I couldn't care more about my shithead kids that the people I fucked as a whore dumped on me because of their use of a faulty condom brand whose CEO I also had assassinated since I got so rich over winning that stupid fucking lotto._

_I hope my horrific kids that I had to raise as blabbering babies are killed by those damned alien freaks. And I hope all my other relatives die horrible deaths as well, because... why the fuck now? I get to die peacefully surround by wealth with the only flaw being my useless family that surrounds me, crying over my demise. It seems only fitting that everyone else I know dies horribly as one last "Fuck you!" from me._

_I've lived a good life. So good, that I just frankly can't care about anyone, because the people I'm meant to care about only made my life ever so more annoying._

_I've hated everything other than myself in life. And at times I even hated myself. _

_I fucked, I laughed, I tormented, I swore, I was hated, these are the things that made me happy. _

_The things that made me mad are the two little shits that are called "Kids" that I pumped out of my pussy and the fact that people often thought I was a good person. Well news flash! I'm not a good fucking person! And I prefer it this way! Because without love, I can enjoy life to its' fullest. Just be fucking glad I didn't hire any assassins to torture you as a parting gift._

_Those fucking docs diagnosed me with mental problems. I had no mental problems -zero! All I had was the intelligence you say "Fuck you!" to everyone and everything while enjoying life to its' fullest -as I've already said again and again and again._

_Now, if you fuckers are offended by this parting message, and don't follow through with burying me in that big fucking crypt that I wanted, assassins are going to tortured yous to death. And don't think I'm bluffing; I made sure that they knew where I was to be buried, and if that changes, your dead -even that little grandchild of mine who always asks me for candy when my fucking son decides to dumper her on me._

_It's amazing how unbelievably fucked up I am. But like I said: I don't give a fuck. I'm a generic, unrealistic fucking villain from a fucking Disney movie, and I couldn't care less. I loved my life, and I hate all yous._

_Now, by the time your reading, I'll be dead. Whether I go to the fake Heaven or Hell is to be determined. But surely if there was a God he would admire me for being so free, right?_

_I hope you all live a terrible life and die horrible painful deaths. And without my financial support, you'll all end up living on the street -which I can only smile at._

_Syonara motherfuckers!_

* * *

**_You cannot live life to its' fullest without love. You cannot be happy without love._**

* * *

**Skae 'Kuzomee...**

* * *

_To thine own eyes: Vale 'Sarasee._

_I apologize for taking up your time to read this, if you are reading this, that is.  
If you are reading this, I must thank you, and apologize that I could not speak to you personally; my deployment officer is forbidding me from leaving his sight due to my recent arrest._

_You will not know who I am. And so, I shall introduce myself.  
I am Skae 'Kuzomee.  
I publicly voiced my outcry at the Kuzom Loyalist's actions. And in doing so, I was seized and imprisoned in Kuzom Keep.  
I remained a prisoner until you marched on the State and settled this conflict before it could turn to violence.  
As soon as your word was heeded, me, along with every other prisoner that voiced their outcry or protested, was freed from our cells.  
Sadly, you were already gone from the State by the time I was released, so I could not personally thank you._

_The only reason I sent this message is because you have a reputation of being kind-hearted, and close to your soldiers and people of your State.  
With this in mind, I decided it not a problem to send you this message, and I ask that you inform me in a reply if you disapprove._

_No other Lineage that was allied with ours seemed to want to help. And if it was not for you, I would had certainly been executed when the violence started.  
I owe you my life. And I hope that I will one-day get to repay you._

_You are a blessing; sent to us by the Forerunners. And while I do not let religion blind my words, I do agree that such a Sangheili like you has to be a gift born by out of the Gods secret and most welcomed meddling.  
If you are not what I have called you, then you are simply the perfect Sangheili._

_I will likely become a tutor for the children of the Keep I reside in due to my knowledge; the Elders themselves seem to think so. And I will bring the children I tutor up on the knowledge on how Sangheili heroes like you exist._

_Forgive me for my mindless praising. But, with all due respect, you cannot comprehend my gratitude for you._

_With all this said, I shall waste no more of your time._

_By my own hands: Skae 'Kuzomee._

* * *

_To thine own eyes: Sangheili members of the Second Fleet of Divine Trinity._

_I know that I am the last being in the Universe that you would like to hear this from. But my perspective on your race is not negative, and I find your race's culture not something I want to get in the way of my judgement._

_Let me start by apologizing for my beating of Fleet-Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee. But he and I both knew that if I refused, and was executed by the Prophet of Pity, there would be no one left to maintain order between the Jiralhanae who decided to follow the orders of the heretic Prophet of Pity. It is due to my actions that this fleet has not already fallen apart from inner conflict._

_You can hate me all you want. But when and if the Fleet-Master awakens, he will reassure you that I did the right thing. I have known the Fleet-Master long enough to know that he would sacrifice his life willingly for any of you. And this was no exception._

_Now, the real meaning of this message is concerning Skae 'Kuzomee._

_Although I did not know the Honor-Guards, I did personally know Skae 'Kuzomee to some extent._

_From what I picked up from Skae 'Kuzomee is that he was loyal, kind to the minor races along the path, passionate about staying loyal to your people's culture and customs, friendly, was against racism, and was in deep gratitude to the Fleet-Master._

_Skae told me of a major event that happened to the 'Kuzomee Lineage thirteen cycles ago. And I will not lie: I enjoyed hearing about your people's history._

_Skae was a Sangheili that I could had become friends with. And I will make sure his needless death is paid for._

_So far the Jiralhanae Stalkers that ambushed and killed him along with the Honor-Guards and the Ultra Captains that ate the Honor-Guards and Skae's bodies during the ensuring chaos have been apprehended and detained. And they will remain so until the Fleet-Master awakens and decides their fate, or, if worse comes to worse and the Fleet-Master does not awaken, the High Council decides their fate along with the fate of the imprisoned Prophet of Pity._

_When the Prophet of Pity faces the High Council, I will willingly speak against him in honor of those who have died in this senseless act made by him._

_I would also like to announce that tonight a sermon will be held in the meal hall in honor of the innocent that have died during this senseless conflict. And anyone that personally knows any innocent victim __that died during __this conflict__or the Honor-Guards of Skae himself__ are invited to give a speech in the honor of the victims._

_But ultimately I wanted to ask for your permission to make a speech in Skae 'Kuzomee's honor. Though most of you may hate the Jiralhanae at this moment, I beg that you let me give the proper honors to one who did not deserve to die._

_I ask this not out of formalities, or to make myself look good. But to honor a truly great Sangheili._

_Your Fleet-Master trusts and respects me, and calls me friend. While I do not ask you to call me friend or respect me. I do ask you to please trust me._

_By my own paws: Chieftain Careekius._

* * *

**_No fancy or formal words are needed for the one thing that should be said: Shit is about to go down._  
**


	25. Chapter Twenty-Three: Unknown

**[ CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: UNKNOWN ]**

* * *

_To thine own eyes: Major Thel 'Lodamee._

_Upon calculation of your heretical acts, and your successful assistance in exposing Supreme Commander Luro 'Taralumee: The High Council has deemed only one possible outcome for you._

_This Demon known as the "Master Chief" was within your grasp, yet you failed to kill him.  
But a Sangheili Major that is able to outmatch the lead Demon in melee combat is definitely a valuable instrument for the Covenant that should not be wasted.  
But even so, we cannot allow to you continue your service._

_Forgive me; I am getting ahead of myself. I should first start with the fate of Supreme Commander Luro 'Taralumee.  
Upon finding considerable and irrefutable proof that you were about to execute the Demon, but was prevented so by the cowardice of Supreme Commander Luro 'Taralumee: we have decided that the execution of Supreme Commander Luro 'Taralumee is the most logical action._

_While your evasion of execution is certain, you will not be able to make a claim to execute Supreme Commander Luro 'Taralumee yourself.  
But you will still be able to watch his execution if you so desire.  
Supreme Commander Luro 'Taralumee's execution will be decapitation and gutting; his head will be paraded around High Charity's streets on the edge of a pike, and his body shall be strung up by its' entrails on the pillars of ultimate punishment.  
I hope this satisfies your most understandable hatred and rage at Supreme Commander Luro 'Taralumee. _

_Now to your fate:  
Your execution for crimes out of your control will severely agitate the Sangheili Councilors that are advising and pleading for me and the high Prophet of Truth and Regret to do otherwise.  
But even though your execution will not happen, we have still decided to remove your spot on the Great Journey, and the Sangheili Councilors have declared that you have no honor.  
__Returning you to service as a Major in the Covenant military is unacceptable and impossible. So is the possibility of you being assigned the position of Arbiter.  
__But your skills in combat will be utilized to the absolute maximum of our abilities to do so._

_You are being promoted to the rank of Sangheili Ultra, and will be assigned as a leader of a team under the service of the Ministry of Reliquary Dominion.  
The team your being assigned to has yet to be announced. But know that the possibility of being assigned to the team stationed in the Second Fleet of Divine Trinity is high. This is good for you as the fleets' Commander, Fleet-Master Vale Nar 'Sarasee, has already shown an interest in you._

_I bid you good tidings, and reassure you that this service will help you reclaim both your honor, and your spot on the Great Journey._

_By my own hands: High Prophet of Mercy._

* * *

**November 8, 2547 ****[1204 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard UNSC _Kryptonite _Dropship 77-Troop Carrier: Charlie 4-0, Preparing To Leave UNSC _Kryptonite's _Hanger-Bay On Priority Mission.**

**Thel 'Lodam...**

* * *

The Human by the name of Tom Harvad took a deep, nervous breath as he leaned back into his seat, and opened his mouth to speak -of what? I did not know "And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'  
And he replied: 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.'  
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

_So heart be still:  
__What need our little life  
__Our human life to know,  
__If God hath comprehension?  
__In all the dizzy strife  
__Of things both high and low,  
__God hideth His intention.  
_

_God knows. His will  
__Is best. The stretch of years  
__Which wind ahead, so dim  
__To our imperfect vision,  
__Are clear to God. Our fears  
__Are premature; In Him,  
__All time hath full provision.  
_

_Then rest: until  
__God moves to lift the veil  
__From our impatient eyes,  
__When, as the sweeter features  
__Of Life's stern face we hail,  
__Fair beyond all surmise  
__God's thought around His creatures  
__Our mind shall fill._"

I narrowed my eyes at what I had just heard, and clicked my mandibles together in confusion. It was highly possible that he just repeated a religious poem; resurfacing the fact that the Prophets have lied more about the Humans.

The Prophets told the Covenant that Humanity had no Gods; they were too pathetic and weak to know what true religion was, and even care. They also stated that Humanity's literature work was nothing but a record of their pathetic and disgusting history; nothing more, nothing less. I had no idea that Humanity was capable of such a similar art, and be very skilled at that art as well.

"Who was that?" The Human by the name of Lex Collins asked Tom, taking a seat on the row of seats opposite where Tom, Mary Trinksy, and Peter Call were seated.

Clicking my mandibles in annoyance at my foolish admiration of the Humans, I gripped my carbine harder while gritting my hidden mandibles as I moved through the Human dropships' bay to the doorway that led to the cockpit where I leaned my carbine against the seat to my side before leaning myself on the wall to the right of the doorway that led to the cockpit.

Tom did not answer straight away as he and the rest of the Humans were watching me with cautious eyes as I moved to my new position. But once they were sure I was not going to cause whatever trouble they had in mind, they redirected their eyes were Tom cleared his throat to reply "The Gate of the Year - Minnie Louise Haskins."

"It's always the 21st century shit with you," The Human by the name of Dominic Tedforn remarked in an annoyed tone "I mean," Dominic let out a scoff "do you know _anything _other than 21st century crap?" I wondered what a century was, but easily guessed it must had been a certain Human age; how long ago the age was, I did not know, nor care.

Lex let out a sigh of annoyance "Leave him alone, Thorn." "Thorn" must had been some type of alternative name for him since it had the "TH" sound instead of the "F" sound; perhaps -and very likely- the name was some type of jest.

"Most modern stuff fails to live up to the beauty of classics," Tom replied to Dominic "due to this, I often avoid them; save one."

"Go ahead." Lex gestured for him to continue. I thankfully did not mind their topic, and did not find it annoying. What I _did_ find annoying was my failure at trying to resist listening in on the conversation. But until Anve, Suras, the bastard Kig-Yar, and the combat ready Unggoy finished gearing up, and got here, I was forced to listen to the Human chatter. This group of Humans spoke of better and more logical topics than the other groups of Humans. And they were frankly less loud, aggressive, and friendlier to each other -save Dominic who was quite aggressive.

Tom was about to speak up when Suras and Kri followed by two Unggoy appeared up the ramp and hurried to take their seats with Kri gripping his beam rifle and standing by the ramp of the Human dropship and the two Unggoys -consisting of one wielding a needler with a plasma pistol on his right thigh and two plasma grenades on his back hips, and the other wielding a plasma rifle with a plasma pistol on his right thigh with two plasma grenades on his back thigh- both seated themselves next to Suras who was seated at the very end of the left row of seats, near the ramp. Suras himself was wielding a plasma repeater with a needler on his right thigh, and an energy sword on his left with four plasma grenades on the back of his hips. I guessed that Anve and the other two Unggoy were still preparing.

As soon as Suras, Kri, and the two Unggoy were all seated, and the Humans were confident that there was no trouble, they redirected their eyes back to their conversation. Tom continued: "I don't really want to repeat it, ma'am." I heard the sound of heavy emotion in the tone of Tom; this upset him for some reason.

"Why?" Lex questioned him. It was something that I was curious about. But not enough to warrant me raising the question -I had no need to anyway; the Humans would always raise the questions themselves.

Strangely enough, it was Peter who answered Lex's question -not Tom himself "It's a poem done by his father."

Tom looked up to face Peter, there was no annoyance in his face at Peter answering Lex's question. "Sorry." Lex apologized, remorse in her tone.

"Your father was a poet?" Mary asked Tom, curiosity in her voice. "Was" must had meant that his father was dead; likely by the hand of the fake Covenant.

"Yes -a war poet," Tom confirmed "You're probably thinking that I get my inspiration from him. You're right; he was one of the few modern war poets that kept to the art," Tom let out a sigh "I often find modern-day war poems are filled with propaganda and tales of false heroic deeds; my father kept to the truth with speaking the truth."

"The Reclaimers indulge in poetry?" Suras mused, rubbing his lower mandibles "More lies by the Prophets?"

I decided to join in "Explains why all Human cultural analyzers were San 'Shyuum." The entirety of the dropships' bay turned to look at me, wondering why I decided to join in. I decided to not indulge them, and let them continue to wonder.

"You're planning on becoming a poet yourself?" Lex asked Tom to have him raise his head to face her. I found Tom to be quite shy. Though I could not linger on this thought as I did not know Human personality enough to make such a judgement.

"Yes," Tom confirmed with a nod "That's if I make it home; if any of us make it home."

I decided to break in there and then "Could you _be more _doubtful?" I snapped my hidden mandibles at him in irritation at his ignorance "Want to go home so much that you shall fight at the best of your abilities," Everyone turned to look at me, narrowing their eyes in confusion -no doubt the Humans were surprised by my obviously wise words "And put aside you pathetic, doubtful thoughts, and function as a proper warrior should."

Tom slowly and sadly nodded in reply, and was about to say something when Anve and the other two Unggoy appeared up the ramp and hurried to their positions. Anve had a carbine in his hands with a Human "Rocket launcher" on his back, a plasma rifle on his right thigh, and his energy sword on his left with four plasma grenades and a spike grenade clipped onto the back of his hip. The Unggoy each had a plasma rifle with a plasma pistol holstered on their right thigh and two plasma grenades clipped onto the back of their hips.

I was confused as to why Anve was carting around a Human weapon, and to what the Humans had to do to convince him to cart it around if that was the case.

Last to come in was the Human by the name of Dean White who was carting his Human "Assault rifle" with a Human "Battle rifle" on his back and a Human pistol holstered on his right thing with ammo and grenade pouches covering his belts and vest.

I found Human armor primitive. The use of cloth material must had been due to the limited availability of the resources required to make armor similar to that of the Covenant species' armor. They did have armor plating, though. But it looked heavy. And due to their use of weapons that required ammo clips, they had to cart around their ammo pouches and belts which made them even bulkier. Jiralhanae often carried around ammo pouches and belts due to their use of primitive weapons that required ammo clips. But it was never to this magnetite due to their size.

Sangheili, of course, required ammo clips for certain weapons like the carbine. But ammo pouches were not required, and the clips would be connected to the magnetic strips along our armor. This helped to prevent fumbling to get the required ammo clip, and also allowed no unnecessary belts and pouches to cover our armor; armor was a useful way to intimidate the Human foe, and it needed to be fully seen.

"Clad, we're all aboard." Dean spoke through the "COM" that we were all connected up to thanks to the Huragok's helpful modification to our armors' communication systems.

"Rodger that, sir. Preparing take-off procedures." Tuscany replied over the COM.

The sound of the ramps creaking as they raised made me grit my mandibles in irritation. I gritted my mandibles harder when I realized that without the ramps lowered, there was no way me and my soldiers could jump out of the dropship if the Humans betray us -which I doubted they would do, but it was still a risk that I was cautious about.

Dean let out a sigh as he took his- "Him?" "Her?" "He?" "His?" Why was I referring to the Humans like this? I personally decided that I would only give them the title of gender if they earned my respect -like the Demon did. Was I abandoning this already? Are my Diverted brothers thinking the same? I was a person of logic -even when I did not seem it. And it was illogical to refer to Humans as "It" out of blind, false hatred. I decided I would talk to my Diverted later about this; see what they thought about it.

The dropship rumbled; I could only guess what was happening; likely lifting off the ground.

I did not like being trapped in here with the Humans. Thankfully it would not be for long. The Human ship may had been slow, but a Human dropship would be able to reach the _"Kryptonite's" _destination in less than an hour. This would not be the case as the exit the _Kryptonite _was heading to was not the dropships' destination. We thankfully did not need a large exit for the dropship to leave the all-service tunnel; there were smaller tunnels that Enforcers and Sentinels used. The plan was for the Monitor to open up a maintenance hatch for the dropship to leave the tunnel before quickly closing it again. It was the same plan that was used when the Demon was sent to the Library.

Returning into the all-service tunnel would be just as simple as long as the ships looking for us do not spot us leaving the tunnel. But they thankfully did not the last couple of times we did so. Albeit our luck had been diminishing at a rapid pace, so things could change for the worse.

Things were, however, also changing for the better. The Human Captain had seemed to have suddenly recovered from her state of pain. Though she can still not leave her bed, and needed constant tending to. But she could speak, and even give commands. She originally did not want for this mission to be carried out. But finally agreed to it after the Humans convinced her that the herbs would reduce the agonizing pain she was still in, and there was the possibility of encountering Qrs 'Jaragsai -who would hopefully listen to me.

But the biggest positive of the Human Captain's sudden awaken from her forced and most painful slumber was that the Demon's pain must had ended. The Captain has stated that she can't feel that the Demon is dead through her connection with him that she had because she was his twin sibling. So the Demon was still alive.

The Monarch and the Monitor wasted no time in scanning the ring for the Demon's location. But could not find him -much to the dismay of the Human Captain. I was worried that the Human Captain might put aside leaving this ring in an effort to find the Demon. But she managed to convince us that she would let the Demon die a thousand times before she risked Humanity. She was lying. I could pick up the tone in her voice; something was wrong. She hated her race even more than I did. And upon asking the Monarch to hack into the Humans' ships' systems, and finding out why, I did not blame her, and the dark truth came to me.

I might of needed to kill her.

* * *

It took thirty moments for us to arrive.

From what the Human pilot had told us over the COM, there was an opening in the tree canopy which would allow the dropship to lower itself down into the forest where this herb was located.

I pushed myself off the wall I was leaning on, bent over and picked up my carbine, and approached the ramp where all the others were mustering.

"No contacts on sensor," Amber informed us. This may had been reassuring for the Humans, but it was not for me "I have nothing."

"Active camo makes one immune to your sensors," Anve informed the Humans, his voice echoing over the COM "so there is still the chance that Qrs 'Jaragsai is there."

"Will he be as friendly as you say?" Lex asked Anve.

I was the one to answer "Qrs has a habit of observing his target before attacking. If he observes us long enough, he will figure out who I am, and may attempt to contact me; this is what I hope."

"And if not?" Dean questioned me.

They would not like my answer, but I answered never-the-less "Then we are all dead; no exceptions; there is not a single person here that can kill Qrs or his warriors."

"Then we ain't sticking around; we're not gonna take that risk. We get the herb, then we get out." Dean told me in a stern tone, one that refused argument. I wanted to remain there for a few moments to see if Qrs turns up. But he had a point. And hence, I reluctantly clicked my mandibles in acknowledgement.

The ramp for the Human dropship lowered with me, Suras, and Anve immediately jumping out to hit the ground with a thump.

The Humans did not jump after us as the dropship was still too high for them to jump down without breaking any bones. Kri could, but he decided to remain in the dropship and provide tactical sniper fire. I accused him of being a coward when he told us his plan. But he retorted by saying that it was a tactical decision. This was false for Kri was too dumb to make a tactical decision.

I observed the area. There was fallen logs and large rocks spread around the area that would provide some useful cover if a firefight was to break out. But the long grass provided the perfect cover for ambushing Kig-Yar. But hopefully a fight would not break out as the herb we were looking for was right there.

"Suras, scan the grass," I waved for Suras to move out with him immediately following my orders "Anve," I pointed towards a large towering boulder "provide field over-watch from there."

"Affirmative, Ultra." Anve immediately complied.

The sounds of the six Human feet and four Unggoy feet thumping on the ground as they jumped out of the dropship reassured me that I was covered.

"Collins, support Suras," Dean ordered Lex over the COM "Trinsky, get up on that boulder over there," Dean waved towards the designated boulder with Mary immediately heading over to it "The rest of you, on me." five lights on my HUD blinked green. The Huragok told us -through the translation of the Monarch- that these lights stood for silent complies; Affirmative, Negative, and so on. I found this to actually be smart, and lingered on the thought as to why we had not adopted such a system.

I kept my carbine trained towards the rocks, logs, tree stumps, and trees that the enemy could be hiding behind, moving slowly with the Humans backing me up "Wreckage-one, this is Charlie 4-0," a voice sounded off over the COM "I can't keep the bird floating here; we're lifting out and will continue to scan for hostiles on the sensors; Kri's dropping down, so don't jump -how copy? Over."

I raised my weapon at the sound of leaves rustling, and saw it was just Kri jumping through the tree canopies, his beam rifle raised forward. Dean replied "Charlie 4-0, this is Wreckage-one -solid copy. Out."

I slowly approached the herb. It looked very alien with blue and red petals on it, and thorns along its' stalk "Monarch, is this the herb?" I questioned the Monarch over the COM who was watching through my visor's live-feed -another thing the Huragok installed.

"Affirmative," The Monarch confirmed in its' metallic voice over the COM "Only one plant should be enough. But I recommend you take as much as you can."

"Affirmative," Dean replied over the COM at the Monarch's recommendation as he and his men positioned themselves next to me, gazing at the herb that was on the grassy ground "Harvad, you have the satchel, collect what you can."

"I'm trying to convince myself that me being the herbalist has nothing to do with me growing up on a farm." Tom grumbled as he bent over and began carefully picking the herbs and placing it in his satchel that hung from his shoulder.

Mary's status light just went red just about the same time the Monarch alerted and us by saying "Hostile contact." and me -along with everyone else- immediately raised our weapons towards the boulder Mary was assigned to "Harvad, continue collecting the herb." Dean ordered Tom who had raised his weapon at the boulder. Tom immediately replied by slinging his weapon back over his back and returning his focus back to the herbs.

"Suras, Collins, anything in the grass?" Dean asked over the COM as he, I, Dominic, and two Unggoy slowly approached the towering boulder with the rustling of leaves signalling that Kri was making his way to a snipering position that allowed him to have a clear shot on the boulder.

"Nothing, sir," Lex replied "Heat sensors ain't picking anything up either."

"Wreckage-one, this is Charlie 4-0. We have nothing as well -how copy? Over." Tuscany informed us over the COM.

"Charlie 4-0, this is Wreckage-one -solid copy. Keep an eye out -how copy? Over."

"Wreckage-one, this is Charlie 4-0 -solid copy. Out."

I realized the Monarch may had known what had happened, and quickly raised him over the COM "Monarch, did you see what happened?"

"Negative," The Monarch replied "The attack came from behind, and I cannot conclude how the Reclaimer was eliminated."

"Damn it." Dean muttered. I was surprised at the ability these warriors had at keeping themselves under control after the loss of one of their comrades. It was admiring -to an extent. Pushing these thoughts aside, I raised Anve "Anve, anything?"

"Negative, Ultra," Anve replied "But I might see something if I shift my position."

I immediately replied "Negative; remain where you are until you have no choice but to move, or I order you otherwise."

"Affir- _DAMN!_"

"Anve!" I exclaimed, fear rising through my blood as to his fate. But as an effective soldier, I remained stable, and snapped my aim around to face the boulder Anve was stationed at to see him being thrown over to us by something I could not see.

"Jiralhanae." The Monarch informed us as Anve landed on the ground before me with a thump, letting out a grunt of pain. I quickly helped him up and handed him the plasma rifle I had holstered on my right thigh which he immediately took.

"Everyone, retreat back to the LZ," Dean ordered.

"Anve, Suras, Unggoy! Get back to the dropship's landing zone, now!" I ordered my brothers. The Human may had told everyone to retreat back to the dropships' landing zone, but Anve, Suras, and the Unggoy would not comply with the Human's orders unless I reinforced it.

"White, this is Clad. Spirit inbound -how copy? Over." Clad reported in over the COM.

"Clad, White -solid copy. Get back to the LZ to pick us up -_now_! How copy? Over."

"White, this is Clad -solid copy. ETA to arrival: -50 secs -how copy? Over."

"Clad this is White -solid copy. Out."

"_HARVAD'S BEEN HIT!_" Peter alerted us over the COM.

Carbine and needler rifle rounds began appearing out of nowhere with some hitting my shields "SHIT!" Dean yelled in rage upon hearing the news of Tom being hit, and immediately redirected himself and began running over to Tom who was lying on the ground behind a boulder near where the herbs were with Peter covering him.

"Lance, rally on me." I ordered my warriors as I, Anve, and the Unggoy that were following me shifted from running to the landing zone to towards the boulder that Dean and Dominic were rushing to.

I slid into cover as my shields began to beep in alarm, and quickly observed that Tom was hit by a carbine round in the leg -he was going to die. I wasted no time, and grabbed Dean's arm "He is already dead -we must go."

Dean used his free hand to push my hand off his arm and cocked his head over to Peter as if asking me to look at him. I decided to wait, and watched as Peter pulled some type of medical gun and placed it near the wound on Tom's leg where he pulled the medical guns' trigger to have Tom's limbs reflex as he let out a loud grunt of pain.

"We've adapted to your stupid weapons." Dean informed me. And I instantly knew that Rek would say "That explains a lot!' if he was here.

Tom was groaning in pain. But that did not stop Peter from scooping him up and placing him over his shoulders. I noticed that both Suras, Kri, and Lex had rejoined us, and were leaning out of cover, shooting at the enemy contacts "Lance, retreat back to the landing zone."

I was about to exit my crouched position when a beam round took Peter in the head, sending him flying back into the boulder as he dropped Tom.

"NO!" Dean exclaimed. I snapped my head around to see where the shot came from only to see the Spirit come down through the opening in the tree canopy, lowering its' bay doors to drop off the soldiers aboard; a few Kig-Yar snipers were hanging off of the Spirits' railings, aiming their weapons at us.

One fired, its' beam hit me and depleted my shields. I and the others returned fire, quickly killing the Kig-Yar before they could get a proper aim.

"You," I craned my head around to see Dean pointing at Suras before pointing at the pain stricken Tom "carry him -_NOW!_"

I immediately interjected "No," Dean turned to look at me, the fire of hatred in his eyes "We are already dead. Send your dropship away before they are doomed too, and execute your wounded comrade so he is not captured and tortured." When I was finished speaking, I dropped my carbine, spun around, drew and activated my energy sword, and charged towards the enemy warriors that had just dropped out of the Spirit's bays.

The dropped off warriors turned to face me; it was a Unggoy Lance being led by a Sangheili Ultra. The Ultra saw me, observed that I was ready to duel, and put his gloved hand up to stop his Lance from firing before holstering his plasma rifle and drawing his energy sword before he began to charge towards me.

"ULTRA!" Anve yelled after me.

"THEL! STOP!" Suras also yelled with the Ultra about to duel me stopping in his tracks.

"Thel 'Lodamee?" The Ultra questioned me. A million feelings just erupted in me. But the most recognizable one was hope.

"Yes-_yes_," I confirmed, removing my helmet so he could see my face "You know who I am? Please, you must heed my warning; I am no heretic."

I heard what sounded like active camouflage deactivating, and I craned my head around to see seven Brute Stalkers surrounding the Humans and my warriors, spikers, maulers, needler rifles, and carbines raised at them.

"Wait" The Ultra ordered the Brutes, but spoke in a voice that the Stalkers would not be able to hear, and was oddly not facing the Brutes, but facing something next to him that I could not see. That was until a Brute Captain Stalker decloaked next to the Ultra.

"Keeping Humans and heretics alive is heresy." The Captain Stalker reminded the Ultra in his deep voice; I wanted to kill the pathetic creature right now for its' foolish choice of loyalty to the bastard San 'Shyuum.

The Ultra clicked his mandibles in annoyance at the Captain Stalker "I know that. But Thel 'Lodamee has been missing for segments; the Fleet-Master will want to speak with him as soon as possible." The Ultra told the Captain Stalker.

Seven more Brute Stalkers decloaked around the Ultra. The Ultra and his Lance seemingly did not know they were there as they all jumped when the Brutes appeared "So be it." The Captain Stalker growled, and the Stalkers all opened fire on the Ultra and his Lance.

I roared in rage as I charged at the Captain Stalker, and sliced him in half with my energy sword, his red blood spilling over my armor and skin, cooling me of the heat inside me to some degree.

I spun around to face the Stalker that was finishing off the dead Ultra, and charged at him, slicing his paw off before he could raise his spiker to shoot me before slicing his head off to have red blood squirt all over my face.

I kicked the body of the dead Stalker out-of-the-way and spun around, ready to kill another Stalker only to see the remaining five Stalkers dead on the ground with arrows in them. Confusion flooded me, but I wasted no time in spinning around in order to charge in and assist the others only to see the Stalkers around them dead as well with them looking at the bodies in confusion.

I picked up my helmet that I dropped onto the ground, and raced over to them "What happened?" I questioned them, halting when I reached them.

Anve bent over and pulled the arrow out of the body of a Stalker. I was surprised to see that the tip of the steel arrows were holographic -not metal "Wreckage, this is Charlie 4-0," Clad voiced in over the COM "The Spirit's gone so we're moving in," I turned around and noticed the Spirit was gone; likely taking off after it saw the Brutes turn on the Lance "Fucker didn't even know we were there."

Fear rose through me "_YOU DID NOT DESTROY IT!?_" I exclaimed, my mandibles shaking it fear at the possible answer.

"Why wouldn't I?" Clad replied.

I bought my hand up to my head and smashed it into my forehead in annoyance "_They saw the Brutes betray the Sangheili... they could have warned the Fleet-Master!_" Anger rose in me.

"Sorry." Clad apologized in a remorseful tone. I was inclined to believe that He did not mean His actions. But I was still in rage at the thought of saving the Fleet-Master being taken away from me again.

"Captain," Tom wheezed "can we go home now?"

Dean waved to Suras before pointing at Tom "Pick him up."

I let out a huff as I turned to watch the dropship lower itself down through the opening in the tree canopy.

We had the herbs, and there were only two casualties that were Human. But no sign of Qrs... And what were these Stalkers doing here? Were they tracking us? And was this Spirit patrolling the area but picked up the ruckus of the Brutes engaging us? But most of all... who killed the Brutes?

I raised my head just in time to see a large creature drop out of the trees and land in front of me. I back-stepped and raised my blade as the others raised their weapons.

"Don't attack it!" The Monarch quickly broke in before we opened fire on it "The Monitor is telling me that the creature before you means no harm." I already figured that out after seeing the arrow quiver over its' back; it saved us.

It did not remain an it, and quickly turned into they as Several more of the creatures dropped out of the trees. They were about the size of a Sangheili, had legs like us but clawed feet with a single toe coming down from its' ankle to make its' leg seem as if it was split in half. Its' arms were similar to that of a Kig-Yar with long claws protruding from its' long fingers. It also had the head similar to the of the Kig-Yar from Ibie'sh, but the back of its' head was long, and reached back to its' shoulders. There was a pentagon shaped flap of skin that seemed to cover its' ear holes located just behind its' reptile like eyes. At the tip of the flaps of skin was a spine that went as far back as its' head did, and had a single red feather of the ends of the spines which must had meant it was a bird, but its' skin said otherwise -so did its' tail that resembled that of a Jailsra from Sanghelios that matched what Humans called "Felines" And at the edge of the tail was what looked like an energy blade tied to the tail, giving it an extra melee weapon.

The creatures had cloth that covered their entire bodies with belts, armor straps, and weapon sheaths covering their torso and legs and arms. They mostly all looked the same with some of the others having their metal like armor in different positions.

"Hang on," The Monarch told us "I'm questioning the Monitor now."

I stood very still. The creature did not return the action, and instead pushed past me where it approached the body of Peter.

"Back the fuck off." Dean warned the creature, raising his weapon at the creature. The creature simply raised its' hand to Dean, telling him to halt, before kneeling over the body Peter.

"Relax, Human," I told him, keeping my eyes of the creature as it touched the wound on Peter's head from where he was shot "There is nothing it could possibly do to your dead comrade that should warrant killing it over."

Dean let out a sigh and lowered his weapon as the creature rose, showing us its' blood covered hands.

"Yes, very pretty." Dominic said in an annoyed tone.

"Its' trying to tell us something." Anve observed.

"What?" Lex questioned "Blood?"

"No," I replied, knowing what it meant, not daring to resist the smile my mandibles were forming "the color... red..."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** After that special that took me forever to do, I'm finally getting back on track!**

**I admit that this chapter is shorter than my initial plans. But I think its' better to some extent, and shouldn't matter as long as it had enough content. And with my new strategy to skip the time a bit without shifting the POV, I should be able to cover more time in a single chapter if I have to.**

**New follower alert! Ding! Ding! Ding! flaze and Rogenberg.  
I ask that you two tell me in a review or P.M if you want a OC based after you, or vice versa. **

**Species Unknown: I hope these _creatures _live up to what you wanted in appearance ;)**

**As always, please leave a review telling me what you think of the chapter, or to point out any typos or canon mistakes, or both! Also please tell me what you think of my new writing style. I personally prefer it, and it allows me to put a bit more detail in.**

**********************************************************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, THE REVIEWING MASTER,**** gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7, goldmonk, ArmoredFury, Mumble8, ultimate idiot, SpeedyNaomi, Hunter092, ShootingKill, hi ace50, SomeRelic, Pure Onyx, flaze, Rogenberg.**


	26. Chapter Twenty-Four: Conflict

**[ CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: CONFLICT ]**

* * *

_He saw me as his twin sister. But I never minded that._

_While all the other SPARTANs thought me as a comrade, the most isolated of them thought me as his sister._

_He opened up to me, even cried in front of me once.  
While I loved all my SPARTAN siblings as a family born out of combat training, I loved him because he needed love._

_He was so lonely. And he hated Halsey, the other SPARTANs, and Mendez. But never did he hate me; I reminded him too much of his life that he lost._

_And I always acted like a true sister to him.  
_

_There was often times that I reminded him that I wasn't her. But he never responded to my reminder; not wanting to believe it.  
He knew I wasn't her, but he didn't want to believe it._

_But he quickly forgot about me, and became 098; became a machine.  
I became nothing more than another SPARTAN soldier to him, and that broke me.  
All that time he opened up to me when he wouldn't do so with anyone else, all that time he said how he wanted to go back to Harvest and live a happy, peaceful life... it was all gone; replaced with a desire to fight until he died._

_While all of us were machines in Human form by the time training ended, only he was a true machine.  
While we mourned for out lost comrades, spoke like Humans, and had a certain amount of Human emotions, he had none._

_While trying to spite Halsey, he ultimately became what he didn't want to become -a machine._

_When our siblings began dying while fighting the Covenant, he didn't show his emotions. Though he still opened up to me at times, but he never showed any emotions other than disappointment at any failure he had committed._

_I often wondered how he would react if he heard that I had died in combat.  
Would he be sad? Distressed? Fall into depression? Rage? Or would he be happy that such a person that reminded him of his lost life was gone? No, he didn't remember that life._

_He wasn't Red anymore. He was 098.  
_

_098 was a personality that blocked another. It was born out of his spite; his hatred. Red wasn't there anymore._

_But what would happen if the day came where 098 was broken, and Red shined back into the world? _

_098 was inflicted with the indoctrination of the SPARTAN II Program -not Red. So if Red came back... he would have a clear mind, remember his family, and hate Halsey._

_If Red came back... Humanity was doomed..._

_He would expose ONI's secrets, and rebellions would happen over anger and outcry at ONI's disgusting acts. The UNSC would fall under the might of the people's rage, and the UEG would fall. And without Humanity's Governments to fight the Covenant -which the rebellions would not halt for- Humanity would fall._

_But would Red care about the consequences of his actions?_

_A person that has lost everything doesn't care about anything other than his own satisfaction..._

* * *

**November 8, 2547 ****[1306 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Unknown Location, Installation 06.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

I felt tired.

And not just _normal tired _but tired as if I wanted to lie down and die. Maybe I was. Maybe I was dead. Being dead was unacceptable. And so, I tried my best to open my eyes, to wake myself up from whatever type of sleep I was in. But I couldn't, I couldn't open my eyes, I couldn't move._  
_

I heard a voice; albeit a voice that was too distant for me to understand. But it was real. Someone _alive _was calling to me. Was I in danger? Had I been kidnapped by the Covenant, and they were trying to wake me up to interrogate me? Was I still in the Gravemind's flesh?

I exempted the theory of being with the Gravemind due to... I couldn't remember. But I wasn't with him; the pain from its' tentacle connected into the back of my head was not there. But his presence was felt.

_(I am still among your twisted mind)_ My eyes slung open upon hearing the Gravemind's voice. But I couldn't see properly; everything was blurry. But the figure standing over me was Human -that much was sure to me.

"He's awake!" I heard the person standing over me shout. The voice sounded similar... Harvad _(One of the members of your "Fireteam"? He almost died earlier)_

I tried to say his name, but no words would exit my mouth. I felt a hand touch my shoulder "Hang on, sir; don't try to speak or move." Harvad told me, patting my shoulder in a reassuring way.

I so wanted to speak; to ask him what happened, where I was, to get away from me in-case the Gravemind tried to take control of me. But I didn't know what had happened to me. For all I knew, I could be paralyzed, and talking or moving could damage me physically and mentally _(You are not paralyzed. I simply am keeping you in this state to make them worry)_

Someone appeared over me; a female. "Hang on, sir," The female told me "just gonna check you over." I didn't recognize her voice, but it was likely that she was a Hospital Corpsman.

"Awake, are you?" I heard White ask me, but couldn't see him "You'll be pissed to know that while you were sleeping we were out kicking ass."

"We were?" Harvad questioned White.

"Thanks for ruining it, Corporal." White groaned in annoyance.

My eyesight began clearing, and I saw Harvad, the Corpsman, and something else standing over me _(One of your saviors)_

I let out a grunt of shock as I bounced back in the apparent bed I was in to sit up. I was inside some type of large tent with primitive looking furniture and pots lying around. The _thing _standing before me was as tall as an Elite, but looked so much more different.

"It's okay; they're friendly," Harvad reassured me "Hell, you'd be dead without them." _(They know little)_

"Correction, Corporal; we think they saved him," White corrected Harvad "But until the Monarch and the Monitor get here, we don't now what these creatures are, or their intentions."

The Corpsman began checking my head for injury. That was when I realized that I wasn't wearing the Forerunner armor anymore; likely having been removed when I was captured by the Flood _(You suspicion is correct)_ I was still wearing my MJOLNIR underskin that the Forerunner armor formed around, and that provided some protection from the elements.

The Corpsman pulled out her Data-pad, and began pressing buttons that would likely make it connect up to my neural interface that would let her see my vitals. By the look of the Data-pad, it was modified by Lighter which would explain why she was _even_ trying to connect up to my neural interface.

"The Ultra not having any luck with communicating with them?" Harvad asked White with me snapping my head up upon hearing that the Ultra may possibly be here _(You want vengeance? I can already tell you that it is out there -my Forefathers allows me to know this)_

"He's out there chatting with them," White informed Harvad, pointing his thumb over his shoulder towards the tent flaps "But he's not getting much; they seem to be able to commune with the Ultra with hand sighs and using sticks and that. Though the Ultra still- Sierra? What're you doing?" I leaped out of the apparent bed I was in, and rushed over to the flaps of the tent with the Corpsman, Harvad, and White trying to stop me both physically and verbally. But a SPARTAN couldn't be stopped; especially one that's out for blood -like me.

I pushed White -who was trying to hold me back- off of me and pushed the tent flaps open to have the blinding light of the sun shine in my eyes. I put my hand up to block the rays, and as soon as the shining died down, I saw the Ultra. It was standing by a group of five of the creatures, communicating with them. Its' Diverted comrades were also with it. But Suras wasn't there, but I spotted it nearby, communicating with a group of Marines off to the side where two Pelicans had landed, and were dropping off Marines and Corpsman.

I immediately -but calmly- walked towards it, anger rising in me. Apparently these creatures were tribal in nature; they had two dozen tents set up around the cliff side we were on with fire-pits, pots, etc scattered everywhere. It reminded me of the ancient American Indian tribes that inhabited America on Earth before the English settled it. Though these creatures seemed much more advanced; using a nearby Forerunner bunker as -from what I could tell from where I was- a command center for possibly the elders or tribal chieftain. The creatures also had spears that had holographic tips; utilizing Forerunner tech for weaponry requires skill beyond comprehension -as least that's what I heard from the Monarch when I was still 098.

I didn't see any female or child creatures. But they were likely hiding in their tents due to the presence of aliens _(Correct again)_

The voices of White, Harvad, and the Corpsman were sounding off behind me as they tried to call me back. I ignore them, and continued towards the Ultra who raised its' head in the air before turning itself to face me; I could see the anger in its' alien eyes even though it was wearing a helmet _(It knows)_

Two Marines came up behind me "Sir, you need to return to the tent to get yourself checked up." One of the Marines behind me told me. I ignored him, and continued to approached the Ultra who was now calmly walking towards me.

"Pathetic," The Ultra hissed "I sense your anger Demon; you could not keep your word; is there not a single one of your race that has honor? _You are all just pathetic worms_." I yelled in raged as both me and the Ultra broke out into a charge towards each other in unison _(That is right; kill it)_

I slammed into the Ultra, driving my fist into its' armored gut. Without my armor, my fist just painfully bounced off of the energy shields. The Ultra chuckled at my failure, grabbed me by the neck, and flung me back a few feel where I landed in a combat roll and spun around. The Ultra shook its' head in anger, and deactivated its' energy shields to even up the duel.

"Sierra, stop!" A Marine grabbed me to stop me but I pushed him off before charging the Ultra again with the Ultra charging me at the same time.

The other Elite members of the Diverted and the Jackal did nothing to intervene, and just stood there with the creatures, staring at me as I landed a punch into the Ultra's armored stomach to have my fist painfully bounce off the armor, leaving it likely broken. The Grunts, however, broke into a cowardly panic, and rushed over to where Suras was.

I grabbed my hand as I back-stepped away from the Ultra, dodging a punch it almost landed on me.

"_STAND THE FUCK DOWN!_" A Marine shouted from behind me with me turning to the Marine and spotting the raised assault rifle in his hands. No one was going to interrupted my rage, so I grabbed the assault rifle out of the Marine's hands, turned around to face the Ultra, its' Diverted, and the creatures, and tossed it towards Anve where it grabbed the rifle as it was in the air, nodding at me; not wanting anyone to interrupt the Ultra's rage either. I still didn't respect the damned alien over its'action -the Elites were a pathetic blight that fell for a pathetic religion that led to Humanity's near destruction.

_(Your kin were similar once) _I roared in rage at the Gravemind's voice, and charged the Ultra again. The Ultra let out a hiss as it grabbed my arms that I was about to attack it with, and held them out-of-the-way so it could bring its' armored hoof up into my chest, kicking me back a few feet with pain flooding my chest _(You are weak without your combat skin. Pathetic)_

"Sierra! Stop this, _now_!" White ordered me as he and Harvard grabbed me in attempt to hold me back. I attempted to push them off me, keeping my eyes trained on the Ultra who was likely smiling at me, but several more Marines came up behind me and assisted in holding me back. Unfortunately my strength was not what it used to be do to my torture by the Gravemind, so I couldn't break free _(A jest on me? Amusing)__  
_

"You _are_ weak," The Ultra jeered "Every single pathetic Human here has lost someone because of the Covenant I _used_ to serve. Yet, they have willingly worked alongside me for the greater good. And out of all of those I believed would betray me, you were the _least_- I did not _even_ considered you to betray me. You are _selfish_, _weak_, _pathetic_," I roared in rage as I tried my best to break through the Marines that were holding me, wanting desperately to kill this bastard "You think you are special? _You are not_."

"_SHUT UP!_" I yelled, adrenaline rushing through me. My eyesight was better, but I still hadn't regained my strength, so I could not fight it properly. But I didn't want to hold it off any longer; 098 may had been able to. But he was stronger in some aspects to what I was strong at. But ultimately, I was the strongest _(Are you really?)_

"I will not keep my mandibles closed to prevent you hearing the truth," The Ultra replied, snapping its' hidden mandibles in anger "You are weak."

"Enough!" White snapped at the Ultra.

"I cannot stop even if I wanted to," The Ultra told White, entering a pace as I was dragged further and further away from it "I cannot allow the Demon to continue with this rage for there is the chance it may attempt to kill me again; kill me without honor, like its' pathetic comrade tried to do, but failed. If it had honor, _she _may be alive."

I roared in rage, and put all my strength in, pulling forward. I did manage to get a bit closer, but not close enough "Stop trying to provoke him!" White ordered the Ultra.

"I am not attempting to provoke the Demon," The Ultra replied "I am but only stating a fact: Demons -the best Humanity has to offer- are honor lacking. This fact reflects greatly on Humanity as a whole; you are not worthy to be the Reclaimers. And I wish I never found out the truth. If I never did, I would still be killing your pathetic race as it should be, instead of helping you save your pathetic race."

"Falsely kill us!" White reminded the Ultra.

"Falsely killing you matters little; you all deserve to die. I need no blinding religion to tell me that."

"A 'Blinding religion'?!" I yelled "An understatement; it's far more than 'blinding'; it turned your fucking race into _stupid fools_. _Stupid fools_ that _killed_ my comrades; _killed_ my family!"

The Ultra hissed in reply "And your pathetic race killed hundred of those who I called comrade. And while they died against your race's pathetic attempt at defending yourselves, it does not justify it when your race clearly deserves to die."

I was about to shout something in reply when the Ultra quickly rushed over to me where it grabbed my neck, tightening its' gloved hand around my neck as the Marines and Diverted raised weapons at each other "And do not _dare _speak about blinding religion to us," The Ultra tightened its' grip, and didn't stop tightening it even when White came up to its' side and raised a pistol to the Ultra's head -the Ultra didn't even pay attention to White, and continued to look at me through its' helmets' glowing blue eyes "Do you seriously believe I have done nothing in the time I have waited around in your primitive ship?!"

The Ultra released its' grip on my throat, and stepped back with me sucking in the air "I know that your pathetic race has been just as blinded by religion as we have; millions have died over your races' pathetic religion. And though your race has adapted to put aside your pathetic religion from your politics, it has still left its' mark. Do not presume to judge us by our blindness from our religion; we have been blinded by loyalty -not religion. We trusted the San 'Shyuum, and they will betray us. So get you damned facts straight: _IT WAS NOT THE RELIGION, BUT OUR DAMNED LEADERS!_ The Covenant was born out of our surrender to the San 'Shyuum; we had no choice but to adopt their perspective. And over time, we grew to rely on the on the San 'Shyuum, and their pathetic, blinding religion grew to blind us. We were once wise, but they bought us down."

The Ultra fell to its' knees "They... _bought us down_... We are paying for our sins against your pathetic race; must you inflict more? Yes, you must. Your race is greedy, selfish, and pathetic; you want to inflict as much pain as required out of pure vengeance -a blinding emotion. Ironic, is it not? That we are blinded by our leaders and religion, but you are blinded by emotions. Which one of us are worst?"

I wanted to discontinue struggling to listen to what the Ultra wanted to say, but the Gravemind wouldn't allow me to stop _(You want to kill it, do you not?) _I wanted to _(Then why do you want to cease?) _I liked watching it grovel. And just like that, the Gravemind allowed me to stop.

"Perhaps the Sangheili are not perfect. But we learn from our mistakes, and acknowledge that we made some," The Ultra raised its' head to face me "You do not deserve the honor of living; your race does not deserve the honor. I have always considered it out of my league to judge another race. But your race so deserves to be judged. And I will not cease to judge until your race becomes intelligent enough to cease your own judging."

The Ultra pushed up on its' knee to stand up, its' hidden eyes remaining directed on me "I find satisfaction in knowing that I have caused you pain; I find pleasure. You deserve pain for you are weak."

"_NO!_" I yelled "I'm stronger now that 098's gone; I'm stronger!"

"No, you remain weak as long as you desire me dead over what I did in the past under the orders of the fake Covenant. 'Orders' You do what you are ordered to, and I did the same -whether I liked it or not. But I liked fighting and killing Humans and Demons; I wanted to be known as a Demon slayer. And I was. So I cannot use the excuse that I did what I was ordered to do. But know that I understand that you hate me, and I care not if you hate me. And you can hate me as much as you want. _BUT _never let it interfere with your mission and your objective. If I were to die, your race and my race die. Are you so weak as to put your own vengeance satisfaction before your own race?"

_(It has a point. Even if you desire to end its' miserable life, I cannot allow it, I cannot allow for anything to jeopardize my plan.) _I wanted to kill it. There was no point in letting it grovel as its' past sins had little effect on its' conscious. It didn't regret what it did to my race. And since it was living without regret, I had no reason not to kill it. But it was right: I couldn't risk Humanity like I was doing so _(A wise decision; kill it when the time is right) _

"I'm going to kill you," I warned the Ultra "Not today, not tomorrow. But I will kill you."

The Ultra let out a chuckle "Not if I kill you first."

* * *

**November 8, 2547 ****[1315 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**Aboard UNSC _Kryptonite _Dropship 77-Troop Carrier: Charlie 4-1, On-Route To Newly Established Priority Sector Alpha, Installation 06.**

**Rhine Dorhan...**

* * *

Sierra-098 was alive... this was either really good... or really bad.

The good was that he could assist us with what Fireteam Night were referring as a mutiny -which was true to some extent. The bad was that he may of tried to hinder us. I wouldn't have originally had this troublesome thought were it not for the report we received not long ago stating that Sierra-098 forced his way out of his "Bed" and attacked Thel 'Lodam due to what White believed was to be over personal revenge.

Whatever the "Gravemind" did to him broke something in him for possibly the worse. Though at least Captain Jsarez was starting to leave her "State of pain" so we may had been able to convince her to go against exposing ONI instead of having to kill her. But which side would Sierra-098 pick if a fight did break out? His duty, or his family? How could ONI fuck up so bad as to let a family member of a SPARTAN II join the Navy?

"Sir, the Monitor and Monarch are requesting that I lower the birds' ramps to let them in the bay," Cross informed me over the COM "Requesting permission to oblige."

"Permission granted." I replied over the COM via my earpiece with the ramps lowering in reply.

"Finally, I have some questions to ask them." Lynda grumbled. She and I both had questions -like how the Monitor didn't mention these creatures earlier, how they managed to rescue Sierra-098, what Sierra-098's status was, was he okay to bring aboard the ship, etc.

I heard the two machine like voices of the floating robots as they entered the Pelican's bay, arguing.

"-Do not think how you perceive them to think." The Monarch said to the Monitor.

"The Reclaimers complain too much about inconvenience." The Monitor replied, as if we were not here.

"Right here." I reminded the two floating orbs who both turned from looking at each other to look at me.

"I am aware of that, Reclaimer." The Monitor replied in its' cheery, high pitched voice.

"Oi, floaty!" Lynda broke in, using her "Piss the fuck off" tone "What the fuck are those things?! And why are we only hearing 'bout them _now_?!"

"Yeah," A Marine member of Lynda's Fireteam agreed "Would've been nice to know if there was something out there that could had waltzed into the Containment Zone and kick the Flood's ass before sending in out most vital asset."

"I was unaware that this species -designated: 'Unknown Species'- was effective against the Flood -if they are at all." The Monitor replied. What I found odd was what it called these creatures. "Unknown Species"... I was led to believe that the Forerunners named every living thing in the Universe before they died off.

"'Unknown Species?'" I questioned the Monitor in a confused tone.

"Yes, my function forbids me from naming newly discovered species." The Monitor explained.

That made no sense. If what it was saying was true, then these creatures must had arrived on this Installation after the Forerunners died off. But if the combat recordings from the helmets of Fireteam Wreckage were right, then these creatures were tribal like in their evolution. So they couldn't have arrived on this Halo via a ship, and I doubted that they evolved from a creature like state of this magnitude in the course of 100 thousand years or so "Do you know what these creatures are? What they evolved from?"

"Negative, Reclaimer. After analyzing the DNA of one of the Unknown Species -through their consent- I have determined that this species have in no way evolved from an earlier species. And their DNA shows no record that they evolved from any other species on any other world in the recorded Galaxy."

That meant that this creature must had evolved from a species _outside _of out Universe, or they appeared out of nowhere.

"So what? These creatures just... _showed up_?" I questioned the Monitor in a confused tone mixed with irritation.

"That is the only logical explanation, Reclaimer. I have not found any records on how they showed up on this Installation or when."

Lynda quickly broke in "Who cares where they came from! I want to know why you didn't know that they could kick Flood ass!"

"Contact with this species has been minimal. They have only supplied me with one body to analyze, and have refused to communicate with me other than at vital moments, and the only time I really spent time around their people was when I was collecting their language data with the assistance of one of their people. Their culture, religion, combat style and so much more remains a mystery to me. And as per my protocol and function, I am not allowed to purse understanding of this species with force or passive communication. I am unaware if this species truly is effective against the Flood or not. But they seem to be willing to commune with us now. This is why I did not speak of them earlier, Reclaimer; it was irrelevant. That, and I could not risk your Captain attempting to save this species from their certain elimination from this Installations destruction, and disrupt my plans."

"Courtney ain't a person to put anything before Humanity." Lynda snapped back.

"Relax, Keyes," I waved for her to calm down "The Forerunners were great when it came to mental tech. But they couldn't build floating robots that could read minds."

Lynda rolled her eyes in annoyance. She hated it when someone outmatched her intelligence, it made her think that she was not as smart as she was. This lack of confidence was annoying in so many ways.

"Ma'am," Wade suddenly said "I have spent a large amount of time reviewing the tapes from Wreckage's cams, and have spotted something odd about the creatures."

Both me and Lynda turned around to face Wade who was sitting on the seat closest to the entrance to the cockpit. Wade wasn't one to speak out unless it was something we hadn't bought up, and didn't seem like we _were _going to bring up. So when he spoke out of nowhere, we all knew to shut up and listen.

I nodded for him to continue which he did "These creatures are reptilian in likeness. But they have mammal aspects as well; feline like tail, skin, so on. They also had a feather which matches-"

"They are hybrids," The Monarch interrupted "I reviewed the report that this Installation's Monitor conducted on this species anatomy and have concluded that this species have bird, fish, mammal, and reptile external and interior structure. for example for the fish like structure: behind the flap of skin that is on their head is their gills, nostrils, and ears all mixed together in a single system which is concealed to the prying eye.

Hybrids? So these creatures where made out of genetic manipulation? Or a bird fucked a fish and their kid -who was a bird-fish- fucked a mammal whose kid turned out to be a mammal-fish-bird Hybrid that managed to fit its' deformed as hell dick into a reptile...? _Who __made these things?_

* * *

After another three minutes of discussing these creatures -now agreed upon to be called by the unofficial name "Hybrids"- we finally landed near the creatures' village where Sierra-098 waited for us.

The Monitor stated that these creatures only had this single village in the Installation, and their numbers ranged over no more than a hundred. But that wasn't what my main train of thought was on as I looked at the battered Sierra-098 who couldn't take his eyes of 'Lodam who was standing behind me, hissing quietly through his gritted mandibles hidden under his helmet.

"If I recall correctly," I began, irritation in my voice "we made a mutual agreement with the Diverted that stated we were not to try and kill each other..."

"_Blarg!_" Was what the SPARTAN said in reply "_Wort, wort wort!_"

"Da fuck?" White muttered.

"Racist." 'Lodam growled in a low tone. I simply rolled my eyes; the Gravemind turned one of Humanity's greatest assets into a mental defective.

"Oh, this is quite bad." The Monitor remarked.

"Scanning now." The Monarch added with a ray of orange light shining towards Sierra-098 who didn't even flinch.

"'Lodam, did you hit him over the head while I wasn't looking?" White questioned 'Lodam.

"No." 'Lodam calmly replied.

Sierra-098 began chuckling "forgive me; I feel sick after jacking off to the thought of eating White's dead sister."

"_WHAT THE FUCK?!_" White exclaimed, charging towards Sierra-098 only to be stopped by his Fireteam members.

"Just as I theorized," The Monarch remarked "This Reclaimer has MF-7631."

"English, please." Lynda groaned.

"Mental Functioning-7631; there is no further explanation over the title." The Monarch replied.

"I thought the 'MF' meant 'Mind Fuck'." One of Lynda's men chuckled.

"What does this... _'__condition' _mean?" I questioned the Monarch.

"It is a rare condition when a Flood Gravemind -who are all connected- plants a spore in the mind of a host in an infiltration effort. The host contains all of their memories and personality, but the Gravemind's spore controls what the host says or doesn't say -for example: if no one other than the host knows that they are infected, the host cannot warn them. The Gravemind's connection to the mind is... complicated to elaborate on further. But if the Gravemind wished to take control of what the host says or does, it can do so." So Sierra-098 wasn't mentally fucked? That was good to hear.

The Monarch continued "But we have thankfully established a simple surgical procedure that implants a neural chip into the mind of a captured host which puts considerable constraint on the Gravemind's spore which will require it to go to incredible lengths to take control of the host physically, mentally, and verbally."

"So he won't sprout random shit anymore?" Lynda questioned the Monarch.

"Correct," The Monarch confirmed before turning to face the smiling Sierra-098 "Though capturing the infected Reclaimer and performing the surgery -which we have the tools to do- will be difficult."

"This is correct, creation of my long gone foe." Sierra-098 calmly said.

"Can't we just remove and kill the spore?" I questioned the Monarch.

"It is impossible to do so without killing the infected Reclaimer. We can only currently dull the Gravemind's spore; put constraints on it. But we can't destroy it."

"The all great Forerunners are not so great." Sierra-098 -or more of the Gravemind- chuckled.

"Righto," Lynda sighed "I suppose you ain't gonna come nicely, huh?"

"Grow a cock, and I might do so." The Gravemind smirked.

"Shouldn't be hard," A Marine remarked "She's already got balls."

"You won't if you don't shut the fuck up!" Lynda snapped at the Marine.

Out of nowhere, the controlled SPARTAN grabbed the arm of the Marine next to him, snapped his arm to have the Marine let out a cry of pain, and yanked the MA37 assault rifle out of the Marines hands before snapping around to aim at us.

The Hybrids all leaped back, staring at Sierra-098 as the Sentinels and a few Marines moved in, weapons aimed at him "Indulge me, please." Sierra-098 said.

Lynda began to slowly approach Sierra-098 "Don't have to; the creature behind you is gonna do it for us." Sierra-098 spun around to see nothing, but didn't spin back around in time to stop Lynda from charging up to him and smashing her fist into the back of his head repeatedly until he went limp.

"Sorry, Courtney." Lynda sighed, rolling off of Sierra-098's limp body before getting up and rushing over to the wounded Marine whose arm looked dislocated.

"Always the fast actor." A Marine chuckled -likely the same one who kept joking around.

"That was quite simple," The Monitor observed "I suspected this may had turned violent."

"Not under my watch," Lynda replied, inspecting the Marines arm before turning to face two Marines "You two, load him into the Pelican, and keep a gun to his head; if he moves, knock him out again. But only kill him as a last resort."

The Marines both said "Yes, ma'am." before rushing over to the unconscious Sierra-098.

So that was the plan? Get Sierra-098 under the table and implant a chip that the Monitor or Monarch seem to have for some reason and in return, have a functioning SPARTAN that will only kill us when her really had to. Sounded simple. Though nothing ever was. And although we had Sierra-098 back, there may had been a chance that he would choose his loyalty to his sister over ONI -which was highly likely if the Gravemind _really _fucked his mind up. The mutiny may had just gotten a lot harder.

Next step was to continue recruiting grudged soldiers who would desire luxuries and duty over loyalty. Thankfully there were plenty of those type of people on the _Kryptonite_. The next step was to have sit-down with the Captain when she got better, and see if she is willing to put her hatred of ONI aside for Humanity's sake. If not, then millions would die.

I kept telling myself that killing a few good people to save the asses of an entire race was justified. I respected Captain Jsarez and her crew; I'd even be pissed at ONI as well, and would want to bring them down. But revenge is a blinding emotion that can apparently affect SPARTANs now. I think I'd have the same mindset if I was her. But deep down, I'd want someone to stop me.

It was disturbing to know who I worked for was a _real _evil organization like in those stupid Science Fiction movies. When I first found out about the history of the SPARTAN II Program, I felt physically and mentally sick. My CO picked up on this, and sternly reminded me that ONI made the right call, and that Humanity would've been damned by the Covenant without them.

But ONI's personal scapegoat wasn't going to work on me. If the SPARTANs were made to combat the Covenant, then I might have been more at ease with it. But to steal a child's freedom to combat _Humans _that would've been defeated anyway was stupid. We would've defeated the Insurrection eventually -wouldn't have we? But the SPARTANs were created to ease it.

What does it say when a secret organization is willing to steal a child's freedom just to make something easier?

The more I dwelt on ONI's evil, the more I could add to the list of crimes that Humanity would be calling for blood over. As much as I wanted to see ONI answer for their crimes, I couldn't allow them to come at risk. But I planned on resigning from ONI when we got back, and do something worthy with my life -something to be remembered for, something good. But if the time arrived when ONI was no longer needed, I would speak out; not out of disgust, but vengeance over having to kill many people I called friends for them.

At least 'Lodam wasn't on good terms with Sierra-098, so if I had to kill the SPARTAN, it shouldn't have been a problem. 'Lodam might actually assist me if I had to kill Sierra-098 due to his hatred for him. This may prove useful. Though I still had no idea on how the Monitor or Monarch would react. Well, the Monitor wouldn't be a problem since I planned to act when we were in Slipspace on-route to a random vector. But the Monarch I might have been able to sway over by saying that this is what the Human Government wanted, and that these Humans were planning on doing something that risked Humanity. Hopefully the Monarch would be convinced. If not... that bridge was still a while away., and hopefully would not need to be crossed.

Hopefully...

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** No movie [franchise], TV series/TV show, book [series] game [franchise] is without its' fans who are a great support whether the developers/ authors, directors, etc want to admit it or not. And there is no FanFic without its' fair share of fans. Needless to say, I wouldn't be here if not for you guys. I would've instead quit after realizing that I wasn't appealing to anyone.**

**New Follow- oh hell, this is getting repetitive. Let's just say that I got a new follower, I'm excited that another person has taken an interest, and his/her/its' name is BLASINGDRAKON. I am more than willing to make an OC based after this character if they want to. But they must first leave a review so I know they haven't done the trick that I do which is made up of someone following a FanFic so they can find it and come back to it later.**

**As per Monday, I will be beginning a Diploma course that I was lucky to get let into due to my age (Guess I'm unique) and on top of that, I will be studying Nihongo (Japanese) so I will have constraints when it comes to time. But I'm sure that I'll manage to push at least one chapter out per week. It's that, or I go on hiatus (Which I don't want) so hopefully you guys understand.**

**Please leave a review pointing out any lore mistakes, typos, or mistakes in general. And please leave a review for the heck of it as well as I love reading reviews of my work (A special, odd feeling, it is)**

**********************************************************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, THE REVIEWING MASTER,**** gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7, goldmonk, ArmoredFury, Mumble8, ultimate idiot, SpeedyNaomi, Hunter092, ShootingKill, hi ace50, SomeRelic, Pure Onyx, flaze, Rogenberg, BLASINGDRAKON.**


	27. Chapter Twenty-Five: Not Quite Home Yet

**[ CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: NOT QUITE HOME YET ]**

* * *

_A Little Girl... An Abomination... A Vengeful Widow... __A Direction...__ A Missing Comrade... A Struggling Sire... A Demon..._

_I always thought that the war against the Covenant was my greatest journey..._

_Then I stumbled upon Halo..._

_That is when the beginning of my true journey began..._

_Was it a blessing or a curse that I found my sister?... _

_I would never know... _

_I had survived the horrors of Halo when so many did not..._

_I was betrayed by those I reluctantly call comrades..._

_I was betrayed by the one we all relied on..._

_But me, and my sister, and her crew were saved..._

_Though... I was not saved..._

_My mind is clouded by the spore of those who came before..._

_My mind is nothing but a vessel for destruction..._

_My mind is nothing but a vessel for the future..._

_I stood on the Prowler's observation deck, watching as Earth got closer and closer..._

_My Great Journey had only just began..._

_A Little Girl... An Abomination... A Vengeful Widow... A Missing Comrade... A Struggling Sire... A Demon..._

* * *

**September 11, 2555 ****[1018 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

******Aboard Unknown**___Sahara_-**C****lass ****H****eavy Prowler, On-Route To Unknown ONI Orbital Facility, Orbiting Earth.**

**Red-098...**

* * *

"Red, you okay?" I turned to face Nai who was standing next to me, watching Earth. I didn't hear her approach, and she no doubt kept her presence to herself to watch me, and determine if I was alright or not. I learned that this was a thing she did over the years I had to recoil with her.

I turned my gaze back to Earth. "Just thinking," I reassured her "Just..." I lowered my gaze to my feet.

Nai obviously knew something was wrong, and she apparently knew what that something was according to her next words: "We did all we possibly could." She was correct -to some extent.

"We could had done more if not for 'Lodam and the Monarch." I reminded her.

She patted my shoulder in a reassuring matter "I know. But hey! It looks like Karma got them."

I turned to face her. "How so?"

"The crew says that the Sangheili are apparently still divided in civil war and conflict over their damned religion, and the _Isigrass _hasn't reappeared. So it's likely that 'Lodam and his group of assholes are lost in space."

The Gravemind likely knew the truth, but wasn't telling me, so what Nai told me reassured me of the likely truth. Although, I would had preferred to kill the fucker myself. But perhaps the day would arise in the future. I knew I just needed blood to quench my first for vengeance after his betrayal.

I let out a sigh at the thought. It was incredibly ironic and annoying what 'Lodam did. The irony was due to the fact that-

"I wonder if our parents survived the Covenant invasion." Nai mused. That was a question I wanted answer as well, but the Gravemind refused to let me know what happened to distress me further. _(You aspire to grasp my inclinations in a grand matter? I intend to disenchant)_

"What was it like? Living on Earth?" I asked her, my gaze still on the planet.

"The scenery was... nice... but the planet was too overpopulated."

"Not that great?"

"It was safe from the Covenant onslaught, so it was the number one choice for us. We almost chose Reach..."

_(__Tell 'em to make it count)_ I shook my head at the scene that was a clear as daylight. It wasn't something I wanted to see, but the Gravemind enjoyed bringing it up on an almost hourly basis.

"A part of me always wished we never left Harvest... but I quickly dismiss that part of me as being insane," Nai sighed in relief "A part of us wanted to leave because we couldn't move on after your clone's death. But I have _that bitch _Christina to thank in the long run. She gave us the last push to leave Harvest; she kinda saved my life if you think about it."

"I heard she escaped Harvest and went on to die peacefully."

Nai let out a chuckle "She died insane, leaving a message to her family full of bullshit. She seemed to think that she won the lotto and was a millionaire," Nai began chuckling "She also had the false memory that she was a _fucking prostitute_ as well, and that she lost her hand after breaking the dick of a mob boss."

I turned to face to my chuckling sister, narrowing my eyes in disbelief "Really?"

"Really," She confirmed "She also said that she hired assassins to kill her family if they didn't bury her in a nonexistent select crypt. Though she didn't hire assassins; her family made sure about that before publishing this online and making an entire news story about it."

"The news took an interest in it?"

"Yeah, they found it almost amusing. Though, the family sadly didn't. One thing that was true in her letter -that I have no idea how she wrote- was that she did indeed leave her kids no money in her testament, and that all her belongings was going to go to her favorite stud by the name of "Stud Muffin" who didn't even exist. And because he didn't exist, the house, her money, all of it went to banks and the Government. Sadly, though, her entire family lived with her, and were kicked out onto the street."

Nai turned to face me, a smile appearing on her face. "But dad managed to buy a few businesses on Earth, and had a healthy revenue. So I asked him to please buy a house for the family; convincing him that too many people have suffered over Christina's bullshit."

"And he agreed?"

"I didn't even need to convince him; he was right on it. I just hope they're all okay." Nai raised her eyebrows as if asking me 'well?' The Gravemind still wouldn't let me tell them, so I redirected my gaze back to Earth, acting like I didn't pick up on her silent question. Nai caught onto this, and didn't press it further -that was if she _even was _asking me a silent question.

I set the thought aside, and turned my head around from gazing at Earth to look at Nai after I heard her let out an annoyed grunt. "Are you okay?"

She turned to face me. "Here we are: chatting each other up," There was sadness in her voice. "It almost seemed like we're having a normal conversation. But we're only waiting the time away until our inevitable separation arrives," Where was she going with this? "Sorry," She lowered her gaze to the ground. "I just wish things would _actually _end up going back to normal."

"The correct response would be for me to tell you that things _will _go back to normal," I replied. "But I'd be lying," She raised her gaze to look at me again. "It's not that there isn't a chance... but I'm still a SPARTAN, and I can't live a normal life even if I wanted to."

"Yes you _can_," Nai sternly replied. "You've done enough for Humanity; the war is over. You have every right to retire."

"If only it'd be that simple, right?"

She narrowed her eyes. "I won't let ONI off the hook that easily."

"But what if going after them ruins any chance we have to live a normal life?"

She let out a sigh. "Ultimately, you should make the decision. Do you want to get payback? Or do you want to settle down?"

I smiled. "Which one involves combat?"

She smiled in returned. I didn't know what was going to happen after this. But I did know that blood -Human blood- was going to be spilled. And while I disliked the idea of spilling Human blood, anyone who is stupid enough to go up against a pissed off, armored SPARTAN II kinda deserves whatever fate awaits them. At least I hope I'd be armored. My armor was currently on the armory in the Prowler. So getting it back may had been troublesome.

"First, though, we find out what happened to our family. And if the Gravemind won't tell us, I'll find out my fucking self."

"Sorry." I apologized.

"It's not your fault you have that _thing _fucking around in your head. It's my fault for sending you in there with little backup."

I quickly placed my hands on her shoulder before giving her a reassuring shake. "You did what was required of you, like a proper soldier does. And no one knew that there was a Gravemind that had integrated itself with the most advance artifact in the Universe looming in the Library. No one. It's no one's fault."

_(You should cease your colloquy. The Human is imminent in his advent to apprise you that you are nigh on your journey's conclusion)_ I broke my sister off before she could reply. "West's on his way or is already here." And just like that,the observation deck hissed open with both me and Nai turning to the sound to see West walk in.

I saluted. "Sir."

"At ease," West gestured before continuing "Sorry to disturb you, but we need everyone to assemble at the airlock; we're nearly there." I nodded in reply before following Nai out of the observation deck.

After that we assembled in the crowded area around the airlock where the door eventually hissed open to have yet more SPARTAN IVs charge in and secure us, pushing us around and growling at us like we were a bunch of criminals. Nai and the surviving members of her crew were taken away to somewhere isolated while I was escorted in a different direction, down a hall.

"Where you are taking me?" I asked the lead SPARTAN IV that was escorting me, he didn't reply. I don't know whether he didn't reply because he was an effective SPARTAN IV, and was following his orders not to speak to me to the book, or if he was an immature ODST in shiny armor who hated SPARTANs over the shit that happened on the _Atlas _30 years ago.

I didn't push it, and remained silent until we arrived at a room where they escorted me to my seat before _'__properly securing' _me and leaving to have the ONI interviewer and several guards walk in as they left. I ignored them and had a look around the room as they all positioned themselves._  
_

This was a proper interrogation/interview room.

Similar to the room on the Prowler: there were no windows to see out into the vastness of space, and a single door leading in and out of the room. But unlike the room on the Prowler, there was no kitchen to make coffee, and there were cameras everywhere with automatic turrets aimed at me. ONI also didn't seem to want to take any risks with me, having the SPARTAN IVs shackle me in the strongest metal available before strapping me in a straight jacket. There was also three guards behind me with shock batons at the ready with another two guards armed with M45D Shotguns aimed at my head. The ONI interviewer wasn't so worried, and kept to wearing the supposed intimidating black outfit that ONI enjoyed arming their official off-duty personal; mostly meant to deal with and intimidate the public, and scare prisoners.

I was surprised that I wasn't taken away immediately after arriving where surgery would be performed. _(They comprehend the peril we impose, and are contrary to the scheme that comprises of any redundant perils; they do not intent an en-devour to incarcerate me, and will extinguish me the foremost potential chance they receive) _That was good. Though, I was annoyed that the Gravemind didn't mention this earlier as I was fretting over whether or not ONI would attempt to capture and use the spore. _(I indulge in your cerebral anguish) _Of course it did.

The interviewer cleared his throat. "ONI interview: Incident 071824260, session 8: continue," The ONI interviewer raised his head from his Data-pad to look at me "I think first off I should answer some questions you obviously have."

I nodded for the interviewer to continue, which he did "HIGHCOM has reviewed the recordings of your previous sessions, and have concluded that you are greatly misinformed on ONI's intent when it relates to the Flood. For one: we have no intention on studying the Flood in any way due to previous engagements with them, and we will destroy that spore in your head when we get the chance. _(But not yet)_ Secondly: -West got this mixed up as well- we are fully aware of what the Flood can do to an individuals brain, and I have been tasked to give you as much time as you need to explain your story."

That struck me as odd. I didn't know that ONI would be so tolerant to the Gravemind's annoyingly slow pace. _(I proceeded to recognize this) _I knew that, it didn't need to remind me. Still, the amount the Gravemind did just to make up its' fun for telling the story was ridiculous; ordering my sister and her crew -threatening some- to keep quiet about it, beating around the bush while wasting a lot of time, and more. _(The superior the motion of setting the anguish, the grander its' apex shall be. I considerably revel in observing your derisory ethnic group attempt to decipher a plot when their theories are exceedingly extraneous and false. And I desire to indulge myself for as prolonged as I supplementary can afore the actuality unravels itself) _

The ONI interviewer continued "You claim in the sessions that the spore will allow you to inform us of everything that's happened, but through its' own pace." That was true. Thought I didn't know why the Gravemind would reveal everything if they were going to attempt to remove him after... no answer?

"Affirmative, sir," I nodded "It may take _some _time but I do believe it plans on letting me tell you everything." I was glad that the Gravemind got bored with using my 098 personality, and let me use my normal one. I also didn't need to worry about it bringing on the personality again since everyone knew that it was fake.

I quickly spoke up before the interviewer could continue "Sir, what happens after you know everything?"

The interviewer looked up from his Data-pad, a smile crossing his face. "We'll call it a trade of info; once we know everything that happened during the years you were missing, we will inform you of your future -seem fair?"

_(This one is superior in intellect. A commendable scapegoat to conceal up the valid fact; they do not crave me to get agitated if they verbalize their attempt to extinguish me, and as an effect, have me cease illuminating) _"Sir, it already knows what's gonna happen, and won't refrain from telling you anything no matter my fate." I told the ONI interviewer.

"You can't guarantee that, for all we know, you're lying."

_(This one is estimably superior in intellect) _"You're gonna wait until I tell you everything before putting a non-lethal round in my head, effectively stopping my brain from functioning, but keeping me alive. You'll then perform emergency surgery on me, removing my brain and the round, and the spore before killing the spore. You'll then replace my brain with machinery adapted from Forerunner tech which will override my thinking structure, turning me back into an emotionless machine -just like ONI wants. You'll then send my sister and her crew to a secret prison ship for war criminals both Human and alien where they will be listed as MIA on the charts, and will never be allowed to leave the ship. As for me: I will continue to serve you unwavering for the rest of my life."

The ONI interviewer showed no surprise. But I had it right. "You know there is no way to stop us from putting that round in your head. So why doesn't the Gravemind try to stop us when we least suspect it?"

I smiled, albeit, it was the Gravemind's smile. "Who said that's not what it's planning. Whether or not it is, it has a plan on getting out of this."

The ONI interviewer narrowed his eyes. "Then I guess we'll have to be careful for now on. But I seriously doubt a SPARTAN -genetically altered by a Flood spore or not- could break out of this room," Before I could reply, the ONI interviewer asked me another question. "What strikes me as odd, is how you were able to know this plan. Does this _Precursor __artifact _allow the Gravemind to hack into any terminal in the galaxy or something? How does it work."

"Just like you said, sir. But there's also the case that the artifact allows it to see the thoughts of every living thing in existence no matter where they are -don't ask me how, sir."

"These... _Precursors _must be more advance than anything we can comprehend."

_(You cannot comprehend my forefathers aptitudes) _"They make the Forerunners look like animals in comparison when it comes to tech," _(No alteration in the thought process of the this one; it still desires my demise) _"I'm surprised, sir. The Gravemind isn't sensing your change out thought over the idea of having the ability to know everything that was currently happening. I would've thought that you'd at least consider trying to capture the Gravemind's spore for research."

The ONI interviewer shifted in his seat, pressing some buttons on his Data-pad. "We ain't an evil corporation, Sierra-098, we know what the Flood are capable of, and want nothing more to make sure that they are eradicated. Don't get me wrong, this knowledge could save Humanity from our sure-as-hell dangerous future, and evolve our tech by hundreds of years. But the Flood's destruction must always come first. Now, before we begin, I think it's necessary that I explain about some things that have happened over the years; what you haven't already learnt from the Gravemind's supposed connection with this... _Precursor _artifact and the crew of the Prowler."

_(You can advance to inquire into any subject you desire. I will avert you from speaking query's I deem to the contrast of my desire -more than most revolving around your blood) _The Gravemind was giving me a usual amount of freedom. But I wasn't about to complain. "I already know the fate of all of my SPARTAN comrades, sir. _("Wake me... When you need me) __Every _SPARTAN."

The ONI interviewer narrowed his eyes. Was it possible that he figured out what I meant? _(It matters to the slightest;__ it would be an impair to enlighten them of his locality. Especially after our subsequent downfall that he was productive in causing. The anguish and ire I felt when it was concluded...) _I personally felt that anger. The moment the ARK was destroyed, my mind went on fire with the Gravemind's rage.

"What about Halsey, sir?" I questioned the interviewer. _(This is a discard of time; the rapid increase of this pace shall be enacted on) _Memories and images flooded my mind as vivid and clear as seeing what was in front of me, and I knew the fate and explanation of events that have happened in my absent, except the fate of my parents. "Never mind, sir," I quickly waved the interviewer to stop "The Gravemind was kind enough to reveal the answers to all questions I have."

"How convenient." The ONI interviewer remarked before typing what happened down on his Data-pad. I noticed a girly sticker of his Data-pad.

_(This one has a female spawn who endured the war. But she will not endure my wraith over my ostensible downfall) _"How old is your kid? I want to suck her titties."

The ONI interviewer raised his eyes, narrowing them. "I already said we reviewed the recordings, so that ain't gonna work."

_(I have already acknowledged this datum) _"No," The Gravemind -speaking through me- replied "This is really me; I turned into a child molester whilst I was absent."

The ONI interviewer let out a sigh of irritation with a hint of anger and discomfort. "That's not funny, so will you stop it?"

_(Humans lack the tendencies required for my amusement) _The Gravemind made me slam my head down on the table as a 'Parting gift' before releasing its' control on me. The chip worked. But that still didn't stop the Gravemind from taking control of me at least once a day for a few minutes.

"Sorry, sir." I apologized.

"It's fine," The ONI interviewer nodded in reassurance "At least you ain't killing me." He must have meant the Combat Forms. And for all I knew, I would eventually be trying to kill him. _(I aspire to the contrary; I intend for this Human to subsist its' existence as extensively as it can due to its' superior intellect that I find admirable) _Could have I repeated that? _(No)_

_(__A Little Girl... An Abomination... A Vengeful Widow... __A Direction...__ A Missing Comrade... A Struggling Sire... A Demon...)_ I started yelling with the interviewer jumping out of his seat and backing away while the guards closed in on me, weapons at the ready, and the auto-turrets directed their aim at me. What was the Gravemind saying? Why did it hurt so much when he said it? What did it mean? Why wouldn't he tell me?

A scene appeared before my eyes. There was an Elite clad in exotic armor standing before a crowd of its' kin. "I relish not in my established footing in addition to processing a modicum repute towards inspiring words of motivation to enhance moral, nor do I covet your reverence. Nevertheless, my declaration is essential whilst Organizer of this clique -the Pariah's of Ethnicity."

The scene faded before the Elite could continue, and another scene appeared. There was a man working in a factory, hefting steel into large industrial machinery. "Hey, how's things at home?" A coworker who appeared out of nowhere asked.

The man turned to face the coworker, but the vivid scene faded away before the worker could respond.

Another one to appear in the previous scenes' stead. There was Prowler floating in space, its' engines off. I knew the Prowler, and hatred rose throughout me. But just as the scene appeared, it faded away for nothing but white to appear behind my eyes.

But it wasn't just white... it was a white world. And in this world was a small figure in the distance, apparently looking at me. The figure faded for a larger figure to appear in the other figure's stead, charging towards me. This figure looked like me, but it was not me in _so_ many ways.

Just as the figure leaped at me, the scene faded away for a scene of Earth's sun setting before the scene faded away.

Replacing the scene was a scene on a distant alien world with a single female Elite staring at the sun, tightening her clawed hands into a fist.

The scenes faded away, and I saw the ONI interviewer in front of me again, looking at me in confusion. "Sorry, sir," I apologized, rubbing my pain stricken head. "That I was odd." I muttered to myself.

The ONI interviewer waved for the guards to stand down before seating himself again. "What was odd?" He asked.

"Something the Gravemind showed me, sir."

"What did he show you?"

I scrunched up my eyes at the pain going through my head. "I'm wondering the exact same thing, sir." _(You will grasp the comprehension to this fathom when the instant is correct. But enough of keeping your sentiments composed. Do you want to be aware of the contemporary fate of your sibling and her comrades?) _I did. But why didn't the Gravemind just tell me? Did it want me to stress further? _(That would be decomposing the amusement I am receiving in the existing measures. But ruminate... is it conceivable that your sibling has met her demise?)_ And just at that moment, rage spun through me.

I slammed my fist down onto the table to have the ONI interviewer leap out of his chair and back away again with the turrets and guards aiming their weapons at me. "WHERE IS MY SISTER?!"

"Being detained in a cell with the rest of her crew. Don't worry, nothing will happen to her." The ONI interviewer reassured me.

"And how do I know that's true? The Gravemind isn't telling me, and I can't currently read your mind. So how do I know? They aren't telling you anything, so you might as well toss them aside as the useless rags they are instead of locking them up."

"No one is useless to ONI," The interviewer reassured me before heading over to the table and placing his Data-pad out on the table so I could see it.

I could see my sister along with Lynda and some others in a cell. "This isn't fabricated in any way. And we have no reason to hide the truth from you even if we did execute your sister." _  
_

The interviewer let out a sigh, picked up his Data-pad, and waved the guards down before taking a seat. "Listen, I know that your sister's out for our blood. But trust me, a lot of people are. But we ain't executing them, okay. Rhine had it wrong."

Those words shocked me. Rhine had it wrong? So they... _he_... "FUCK HIM!" I yelled, the ONI interviewer didn't back out of his seat again. "FUCK HIM! FUCK HIM! _FUCK HIM!_"

"I assume nothing good came out of his attempted mutiny?"

I looked up to face the ONI interviewer. "It was a massacre, sir."

"Then let's get underway so I can know the full extent of what he's done. Or do you want to see your sister in person first?"

_(His words regarding your siblings fate are legitimate) _Why would the Gravemind tell me this after all that stress it put me through? Why wouldn't it just let me stress further? I ignored my thoughts and shook my head. "Negative, sir."

"Then shall we begin?"

I had something I wanted to know first. "What's your name, sir?"

"Lieutenant George Kirkland." There was nothing special about the name, nor could I pinpoint the reason I asked his name since it was my own doing, not the Graveminds.

I wanted to get into this. But there was something else bugging me. "Sir, you said that ONI isn't a 'big, evil organization' yet you're still planning on forcefully utilizing me with brainwashing," I didn't give him a chance to answer. "Ah, but I know why. You've let other SPARTAN IIs retire at their request. So why not me? Because the SPARTANs that did retire were on good terms with ONI, or if they did resent what happened during their training, ONI manages to shift the blame on Halsey -your own personal scapegoat. I know, I used to hate her as well. You remember when I first regained my actual personality? How I screamed that I'd kill Halsey over and over again? That was weak of me. She did what she was ordered to do -save some decisions she made herself. But the Augmentations, our kidnapping... it was all ONI -not her. Now, You know better than to release someone who hates ONI with the bottom of his gut back into the world[s]. So what's the best course of action? Lock us up. But no, you won't lock me up when I could still be of use. My sister and her crew -yes. Me, no."

Kirkland didn't waver -as I suspected would happen. "It's not like we enjoy our plans, but you leave us no choice. We can't release you back into the public, and you won't willingly fight for Humanity again. So what are we to do?"

I didn't hid the anger in a voice. "Let me live out the rest of my life in prison with my sister. After half a lifetime apart, let me spend what's left with her; let me protect her in whatever prison you're sending her to, to redeem myself. That's the right solution."

The ONI interviewer let out a sigh. "We'll no doubt be here for a few days, so do I'll take it up with HIGHCOM later. I personally don't see the need to continue to use you in operations, and perhaps HIGHCOM's sensitive side will kick in. But I don't see why it can't happen."

I let a smile appear on my face. Though I couldn't tell if they were telling the truth because the Gravemind didn't tell me what they were thinking. Hopefully he was telling the truth.

I myself always told the truth -even when that truth could hurt me. _(I comprehend you implication. A Merited penance)_

A Memory impossibly vivid appeared afore me. I was on the training field, Mendez in front of me with three more trainers standing behind him -my own trainer included. I didn't know if I hated this memory or loved it. For one it reminded me that I never truly fell for the early age indoctrination. But it also reminded me of my turning point... of when 098 came into the equation.

"I had a lot of friends -even family- living in that city," Mendez stated, pacing around me with one hand on his holstered baton and the other scratching the back of his head. "You ought to be lucky that none of my friends decided to do a Summer Job."

"What if they did? You'd beat me up over vengeance after all that shit you taught us about how vengeance was wrong?"

Mendez's hand shot out of nowhere, smashing me across the face and sending me tumbling to the grassy ground. "You will not speak unless you are asked a question -do you understand, Cadet?"

I calmly used my arms to push myself back up where I spat some blood into Mendez's face. "No."

Mendez hit me again, sending me tumbling to the ground, again. "Do you understand, Cadet? And call me 'sir'."

I calmly got back up again, maintaining my composure. "I'm not a soldier."

Mendez smashed his fist into my face again, sending me sprawling to the ground again, blood seeping out of my nose and mouth. I heard Mendez unshackle his baton from his belt -this was gonna get bad. "Do you understand, Cadet?"

I smirked as I got up, raising my aching head to face him. "I'm too young to understand all this military shit. I don't get why you're hitting me, and what you want me to do."

Mendez smashed his fist into my face again. And yet again, I fell to the grassy ground. "Stop playing around, son. I don't enjoy this."

"Neither do I."

Mendez landed a kick into my gut. "Speak only when asked to."

"I have every right to speak when ever I damn well want to speak."

Another kick landed into my gut. It was so hard that it took my breath away. I spun over, seeping in the air as I coughed blood up. I wondered if Mendez would actually kill me? Would he stop when it got too much? Or would Halsey have to intervene? I hoped that Halsey would intervene so I could spit blood in her face, too.

I finally recovered my breath when Mendez held a hand out for me. "Com'on, son. Just play along so you can retire to the barracks."

I swiped at his fingers, but only managed to grab and break one. Mendez let out a grunt of pain as he pulled his hand back and began holding it to his chest, but not letting pain show on his face. That was wrong of me; I was a little kid, I didn't have the strength to break a grown mans' finger. What the fuck use was it trying to stay normal if I kept using what was taught to me? I shouldn't have broken out and went to the city and kill those people. I may had wanted to spite Halsey, but it contradicted my plan to never use my abilities, and just buy time. I was a damned mess. And it got worse as Mendez landed another kick into my gut.

Strangely enough, each kick and punch Mendez landed reflected onto my modern self. I couldn't see nor hear the ONI interviewer. But I bet that he was confused as fuck as to why I was grunting every now and again, and why I wouldn't answer him when he spoke to me -_if _he was speaking to me which I believed he was.

Thankfully, the memory faded away and was replaced with another one that happened but a few hours later. This one was less painful physically, and more mentally. I had no idea what the Gravemind hoped to achieve by doing this. But if it was to distress me, it was doing a good job.

Samuel pushed me back as I tried to enter the mess-hall. "You attacked the Chief. What makes you think that you're welcome here?"

I found it hard to speak due to the beating Mendez gave me. But back then, nothing stopped me from speaking if I wanted to. "You don't get a say, Sam."

Sam moved out-of-the-way. "Don't call me that, 098." He said before turning around and heading back into the mess-hall with me following. And as I suspected, everyone turned to look at me when I entered.

My fellow SPARTANs were somewhat tolerable to me when I first arrived back from the city. But attacking Mendez had driven them to begin hating me. Sure, killing a dozen civvies was okay. But breaking the finger of our false father-figure was not okay.

No one let me sit next to them. Thinking back, I hated them for it. But it wasn't their fault. They were weak enough to fall under indoctrination, and I just happened to be stronger. That was what I originally thought. But then I fell under Halsey's- no, ONI's brainwashing as well. But how did that happen? When did it start? I retraced my steps, the reminiscence of my past playing through my mind.

There was no start. I was young, and foolish. I became 098 because I kept trying to become a machine to spite Halsey. The irony was fucking annoying. I turned myself into what I resented the most -a soldier- no, a machine. And all for what? Revenge. Revenge was a blinding emotion, a sick emotion.

A fine example of this was when I turned on Thel 'Lodam and tried to kill him over him killing Sheila. He was lucky that the Gravemind removed the armor I was wearing, because if it didn't, Thel would be dead. But what harm would've that done since 'Lodam decided to piss off anyway? Because he saved me multiple times before he... _disappeared_. And in the end, I _kinda _recoiled with him, forgave him. And there was that fucking irony again. When I finally convinced myself that if the moment came where I needed to lay down my life for 'Lodam, I would do it. And only hours after that, he betrayed us.

I want revenge again. And it would seem I hadn't learnt from the first time that revenge severely impacts my combat and social skills, and dampens my overall effectiveness. I tried to kill 'Lodam without any consideration about the consequences.

The same thing was with ONI. Getting revenge on them could escalate public tension into a damn civil war where thousands would die. And for what? The satisfaction of getting payback? Was it worth it?

Yes. Revenge just felt too damn good.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** Thanks, hugs, kisses, love, etc all around to everyone reading this. Exempt the hugging and kissing stuff if you're over 18. I'm 16, and I'm pretty sure kissing counts as... um... Well, hugging shouldn't be a problem. But I just don't want to smell your body odor.**

**Got a new guy along for the ride: The Constitutionalist. Glad to have you aboard! Don't expect me to stop the Pelican if you fall off for some reason! Now, if you want an OC based after you, I ask that you leave a single review first so I know you haven't just followed this story so you could come back to it later after you're finished with you current FanFics. It's okay! I do this too!**

**It goes without saying that I massively spoiled what's to come with the whole 'Thel 'Lodam disappeared' thing. But hopefully it will do less to annoy you, and do more to make you wonder WTF happened.**

**I also put a lot more detail into the Gravemind, making him speak more... oddly. A lot of words you won't understand, so I recommend you look up their definition on Google. I apologize for this. But one of the main points I wanted to point out with this version of the Gravemind is how not many people can understand what the heck it is saying most of the times.**

**Sorry if this chapter deviates away from the main plot of the story too much. I know a lot of you (A lot = my 28 Followers) are excited about the events taking place on Installation-06. But I needed to get Red settled in the current time first.**

**_A Little Girl... An Abomination... A Vengeful Widow... __A Direction...__ A Missing Comrade... A Struggling Sire... A Demon..._**

**^^^ This is a cryptic foreshadow. Please feel free to leave your speculation on what it all means, and it'll be good feedback as I'll be able to determine if this foreshadow was too obvious or not. Much of this you won't understand. But some of it is related to characters and events that have already been introduced..**

**Please leave a review as I love them - a lot. Also tell me in that said review if I made any typos or lore mistakes. If I did, point them out, and I'll correct them while also crediting you in the next chapter.**

******************************************************************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, THE REVIEWING MASTER,**** gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7, goldmonk, ArmoredFury, Mumble8, ultimate idiot, SpeedyNaomi, Hunter092, ShootingKill, hi ace50, SomeRelic, Pure Onyx, flaze, Rogenberg, BLASINGDRAKON, The Constitutionalist.**


	28. Chapter Twenty-Six: Gratitude

**[ CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: GRATITUDE ]**

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**[EPWW]**

(..[UNSCTTP]..)

(..[Text Doc/File]-[DF-4519-16254-09127-XX]

(..[ENCRYPTION CODE]-[OMEGA-RED]..)

(..[PUBLIC KEY]-[File/echo-tango-four-eight]..)

(..[DATE:]-[3/11/2546]..)

(..[FROM:]-[CODENAME: Jupiter]..)

(..[TO:]-[Doctor: Campbell Joyce]-[SN:CC 651333]-[ID:11903-654-7123-S]..)

(..[SUBJECT:]-[Reassignment]-[Future Objectives]..)

(..[CLASSIFICATION:]-[EYES-ONLY]-[ .PRTCL.1A]

[File/Open/Begin]

Doctor Campbell Joyce-

As per Directive-XXPER-24453445, you are being redeployed to the UNSC _Charon_-Class Light Frigate designated: _Kryptonite _where you will enact on Article C-1 to C-124 of Directive XXPER-24453445. Failure to comply with Article A-1 to A-10 of Directive-XXPER-24453445 (Following through with your reassignment and orders of reassignment) will be met with retaliation and possible punishment via Directive-XXPER-24452119 (Minimum of 25 years imprisonment, maximum of 50 years imprisonment)

Failure to enact and/or comply with Article C-1 to C-124 of Directive-XXPER-24453445 will be met with retaliation and possible punishment via Directive-XXPER-24452119 (Minimum of 25 years imprisonment, maximum of 50 years imprisonment)

You can find access to the designated Directives and their following Articles [Here] Reading is recommended, but not mandatory.

Further orders-

Lieutenant David Larson (A.K.A: The Constrictor) is currently working undercover on the UNSC _Charon_-Class Light Frigate designated _Kryptonite _as per Directive-EAE-25402212. Exposure of Lieutenant David Larson (A.K.A: The Constrictor) and failure to comply with Article F-1 to F-25 of XXPER-24453445 is direct violation of Article B-1 to B-11 of Directive EAED-25406710 and will be met with retaliation and punishment via Directive EAEU-25409123 (Life imprisonment, possible death penalty)

You can find access to the designated Directive and their following Articles [Here] Reading is mandatory.

You have 24 hours to respond.

CODENAME: Jupiter.

[File/End/Close]

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**November 8, 2547 ****[1523 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Psychologist's Office, Installation 06.****  
**

**Campbell Joyce...**

* * *

Of all the people aboard the UNSC _Kryptonite_, none was more harder to read than Albert Freud.

Though, it was easy to pick up on his common likes. One of which I managed to figure out by his tendency to immediately walk over to my stereo and put in his copy of Für Elise before pressing play and taking a seat opposite me.

He never asked for my permission to use my stereo -I didn't care anyway, it was just odd that he lacked courtesy. But I did ask him about it once, and he said that the stereo belonged to the ship, and he asked Timmy in advance if he could use it. That made sense since he didn't use it the first time; he also didn't speak to me much, so he may had been nervous, and didn't want to ask me.

These facts led me to assess a part of his personality. If he was too shy to ask something, he would ask someone closer to him instead.

Thankfully, though, Albert warmed up to me, and began talking a bit more -but only when I asked him questions. This led me to assess that he isn't one to talk much unless he is asked a question, or spoken to.

As per usual: Albert took the right seat opposite me, and immediately relaxed, closing his eyes to listen to the music, but not drifting off to sleep.

I cleared my throat. "How have you been?"

"Bad." Albert replied indifferently.

"I heard that one of your fellow teammate and friend -Jayden Gray- has come out and admitted that he is gay," I began eyeing the Christian cross that was showing through his T-shirt. "How are you dealing with that?"

Albert didn't open his eyes, but replied calmly with: "Gray isn't really someone I would call a 'friend'. But nevertheless, I could not really care how he is sexually orientated."

I narrowed my eyes. "Forgive me, I just assumed that you being a Christian, you may had been opposed to homosexuality."

"I pride myself in not being stereotypical," Albert replied indifferently. "I personally believe that hating someone for being a homosexual because I'm a Christian puts a big red mark on my checklist of trends to avoid."

I leaned back into my chair, writing all the details he was telling me down onto my Data-pad with my stylus. "But how do you _personally_ feel about homosexuality?"

"'Men and women should marry and have sex with men and women' is what typical Christian representatives say again, and again, and again. I prefer to believe in a different ideology. There's the Covenant. If God created us along with every living thing in the Universe, and he's deciding the fate of all those living beings, than he is a cruel God to inflict so much suffering onto Humanity. That's where I put aside religion for logic. I believe that God only created the Universe, and left the Universe to evolve by itself while watching us and observing his creation. So, with this different point-of-view, I can't say that God intended for Humans to remain Heterosexual."

I had just heard one of the most logical things I had ever heard, and I couldn't hide the smile that appeared on my face. "I'm impressed by your perspective," I began writing everything Albert had just told me down onto my Data-pad. "I'm _really_ impressed."

"I have many reasons for seeing things this way," Albert admitted. "It mostly is caused by the complete lack of logic of 'Classical Christianity'. Adam and Eve gave birth to Humanity. They are the parents of Humanity. Now, I don't know much about that classical stuff, but if they are the parents of Humanity, then aren't we all siblings? So my wife is my sister?."

I saw where he was going, and I couldn't help but smile again. "Incest is okay in the classical bible, but homosexuality is taboo." Albert explained.

"I see your point." I agreed.

"Though most Christians still follow 'Classical Christianity', I was lucky that my parents followed 'Modern Christianity'."

"Speaking of parents: how have you been holding up not hearing about them over the past couple of weeks?"

Albert opened his eyes very quickly, almost making me jump. "Can we change the topic?" Albert was very secretive of his family. And although I had access to his history, and his family's status, he still didn't like them being bought up. I had tried to get him to open up about them for months -to no avail.

"Okay... oh, how are you coping around these 'Diverted' Covenant."

"Contact with them has been minimal. I've passed them a few times in the corridors, but I've mostly ignored them." This really made no sense. One of Albert's tendencies was to hold personal grudges against those who have harmed or caused harm to come to his friends or teammates. The Covenant wouldn't had been an exception.

Curious, I pursued my thoughts. "I thought you would've attacked them."

"I'm not suicidal; attacking an Elite with nonlethal intent will ultimately lead to my demise. And I know what you're thinking, but I only hold grudges against those who have _personally _harmed those I care about. These Diverted have slaughtered no doubt hundreds of Humans, but those Humans mean nothing to me." That made sense, and had a decent amount of logic in it.

"That's good to know. Well with that out-of-the-way, let's continue. How about your feelings of the incident with Staff Sergeant Lex Tyre?" I questioned Albert with him slowly closing his eyes to one of Mozart- no, Beethoven's most popular works.

"Tyre better stay in that coma." Albert calmly and coldly said. I realized that I had to assess if Albert was a possible threat to Lex's well-being, and decided that I had to press the issue.

"What would you do if you encountered him again?"

"The possibility of me encountering him are slim since I will not be going out of my way to look for him, and he will no doubt try to avoid me in turn. But if I did see him, I would no doubt harm him -no matter the consequences."

"You're a bit violent for a Christian."

I almost saw a smile form on Albert's face. "I believe in Heaven and Hell. But I frankly don't care which I go to. The reason I wear this cross is so luck can accompany me to the battle field -which it has so far obliged to do. And that same luck doesn't seem to give a care about what I do off the battlefield because I have almost killed people before, and God hasn't shown that he was angry at me."

"Would you kill him?"

"No. I know that the Captain could protect me if I only put him back into a coma -she has a habit of doing so to her crew. But killing him would make saving me increasingly difficult."

"Do you feel alright using Captain Jsarez like that?"

"It's hardly a tendency of mine, and it has only happened twice in my whole service to the _Kryptonite_. And the Captain has already talked to me about this, and is happy to have me keep the 'disruptive' among her crew in line with some harsh discipline."

"Really?"

Albert slightly turned his head, as if he was confused, but he didn't open his eyes. "You sound surprised. No doubt you know that I've already figured out that you're relaying all the info you're collecting on the crew back to the higher-ups, and you're surprised that I said something so risky with these facts."

He was smart. I always wanted to be a military Psychologist, but was shocked to learn that I had to break protocol at keeping patients personal secrets confidential to keep ONI happy. Still, I signed up as a military Psychologist for a single reason: To help those affected by the war.

My father had severe PTSD. It was so bad that he committed suicide out of depression. So I made it my personal agenda to help as many soldiers as I could, and to prevent the hardships that I had to suffer from happening to other families.

I sighed: "I'm going to pretend that I didn't just hear that. And in return, you won't mention it again."

"I can talk about whatever I want in the presence of a doctor," Albert calmly replied. "And that doctor is obligated to listen to me, and keep anything I say to himself less it involves an assessment on my psyche."

I let out another sigh, this one having more irritation in it. I didn't like where I was. He obviously didn't like ONI, but did that reflect upon me? "You're putting me in an awkward position," I leaned forward. "Listen, I know you don't want to be here, but that's not my fault."

"I never blamed you for anything." Albert calmly reminded me, his eyes still shut, listening to the music.

"Some things don't need saying."

"That's because those things aren't in the mind of the speaker."

I let out another sigh, but this time it was in submission. He was right: He shouldn't had been afraid to tell me anything. I hated ONI. "You're right: You shouldn't be afraid to tell me anything. And _I am _severely sorry for ONI's nosiness. But there's nothing I can do."

"You could let me go." Albert suggested. I couldn't do that. And I think he knew it. But he had something up his sleeve -I knew it.

"I can't do that." I reminded him.

"I know," Albert admitted -which was odd. Albert than opened his eyes, and looked straight at me. "But tell me: Do you see a psycho in these eyes?"

I hesitated. "No." There was no signs of this man being unstable. He was fit for duty, and was fit to kill. His hatred and personal vengeance agendas against those who pissed him of, or hurt his teammates was just a tendency that I kind of admired.

"Than you don't need me here to do assessments. Just keep it to me coming each week to report anything interesting that has happened in my dull or lack of life, and I'll be happy."

I hesitated again. "Okay... so is that all?"

"Like I said: 'Dull life'."

I nodded, and Albert got out of his chair, walked over to my stereo and ejected the disk, and walked out of my office without another word. That was Albert Freud: The man of few words.

The next person to walk into my office spoke a bit more than Albert, but the way he spoke was -like Albert- devoid of emotion, and bland. He immediately made his way to the chair opposite me before seating himself with his one pale blue eye staring at me.

"How have you been, David?" I asked the young man with a surprising amount of grey hair and winkles.

Looking at David Larson, I could tell that his history with ONI was bad. He was 31, and had some features of someone that age, but he also had a very pale skin tone, winkles, and a moderately thick mustache with moderate length grey hair.

He was missing his right eye that he lost during a 'training exercise' -according to his file- and had a scar going away from the damaged eye socket and around his right temple. He had seen a lot of combat in his so far short life. And I could only guess what type of combat that was since most of his file was covered in black ink.

With David not replying, and just sitting there, staring at me, I decided to ask again. "Things been okay between you and the rest of the crew?"

"Sorry," David apologized for not answering me. "But answering your question: Things have been average at best."

"Oh?"

"The harassment I have been receiving from Fireteam Location has ceased." That took me by surprise. There was no reason that I knew of for the harassing Fireteam to leave David alone -unless the Captain had a word with them about it.

Fireteam Location mostly consisted of fresh Marine recruits being led by a particularly arrogant Marine Sergeant who seemed to think he was top shit -even better than ODSTs and _even _the SPARTAN. Arrogance was common among the Marines on the _Kryptonite_. I couldn't properly pin-point why, but it may had been that the Marines just didn't face enough combat for them to be 'emotionally broken' or they in turn were trained by a trainer who was very arrogant and seemed to think that it was the proper way for Marines to act.

"Why not?" I questioned David.

"I mostly spend my time around Lighter Than Some -who is guarded by two handpicked veterans tasked by Lynda and almost always guarded by at least one member of the Diverted. Plus, Timmy is always watching and it isn't uncommon for the Monitor of the Monarch to roam around Lighter Than Some for a high amount of time. And with all this, Fireteam Location have decided it mandatory to their physical well-being to keep their distance."

"That's good to hear." I replied happily. I was still trying to determine why exactly the members of Fireteam Location were targeting David. David was an assistant in the armory -likely a cover story so he could spy for ONI. And with this job he didn't really have any friends nor did he socialize. That fact combined with his odd appearance may had led to the targeting. David reported the Fireteam on multiple occasions to his CO -Captain Dean White. Dean did file multiple reports on the Marines, and spoke with them on multiple occasions, and they began to stop -that was until they entered Slip-Space to 'Halo' where the Marines knew they were free from the justice system. They then began annoying David again, and Dean couldn't do much to stop them unless he locked them up in the brig. He did threaten the Marines with Court-Marshal if they didn't stop, but they didn't listen. It didn't help that the Marine's Team Leader was the son of a wealthy entrepreneur who no doubt had deep ties in the UNSCDF.

I realized that this topic was done for, and decided to bring up another one that I was quite interest in. "You say you've been hanging around this 'Engineer' for most of your daily routine. Care to explain?"

"Well, it's almost as if Lighter Than Some was meant for me to interact with. He's quiet, friendly, social, doesn't really like Timmy, knows a ton of interesting and intriguing cultural related topics that I have no problem indulging in, he hates violence, he hates the Covenant for enslaving his kin -you get the picture." I did get the picture. David was the quiet, isolated type of person. He didn't like talking to anyone that he wasn't friends with, but would talk if he was asked questions, though, he did try to avoid questions related to his past -whether the person knew his past involved ONI or not. He probably spoke and opened up the most around me due to the friendship we developed over my time on the _Kryptonite_. Apparently ONI had no problems with this friendship -which was good. And I greatly enjoyed speaking to David -he had a keen interest in different cultures as did I.

"So you and the Engineer get along alright?"

"Yes," David confirmed with a nod. "Lighter Than Some has even called me his friend."

I was curious as to how he knew what the Engineer was saying. "How do you commune with it?"

"The Monarch is usually with Lighter Than Some to translate for it. But when it isn't, a Grunt is usually there to translate in the Monarch's stead."

That made me curious. "A Grunt?"

"Yeah. Apparently Grunts and Engineers get along really well within the Covenant, and a Grunt named Yoplap has had an extensive amount of experience with Engineers in his past."

"And you're sure the Grunt translates properly?"

"Lighter Than Some can understand English along with whatever barking and yapping the Grunts do, but just doesn't have the vocals to commune with those languages. But as I just said: Lighter Than Some understands what the Grunt is saying, and has told me -through the Monarch- that he will tap the Grunt over the head if the Grunt lies. So far, the Grunt hasn't lied -the Elites are saying that it's surprising that a Grunt is this well behaved."

"Can't the Engineer just install some type of translating software into your lenses?"

"There have been plans... but it'll take a large amount of time for Lighter Than Some to install the software on all the equipment on the _Kryptonite_. And Lighter Than Some has over priorities at the moment." This was bothersome as I wanted to talk to the Engineer, but I didn't want to be around the Grunt; I hated Grunts. They may had seemed harmless and almost silly with their weirdly translated voices, but they were murderers. This is what made my relationship with First Lieutenant Frank Sullivan so good -we both lost family to a Grunt in a gruesome matter. It kinda felt like Frank was my Psychologist at times due to his understanding and listening to my problems.

"Well, it's good to hear that you have a friend." I smiled.

"Yeah," David agreed in his hoarse voice. "It's a.. _different _feeling." What did he mean by that?

"'Different'?"

"I haven't had a friend before." David admitted, and I knew at that moment that I couldn't dive into why. But I still had a protocol to follow. I was also kind of hurt that David din't consider me his friend.

"Want to tell me why?"

"No." David shook his head. I was right, this was off-limits territory.

"Okay. Anything else you want to talk about? How are you dealing with the Diverted?"

"The Diverted?... I mostly just avoid them. But I often speak with Suras 'Johanamee about Sangheili culture that greatly interests me. And thankfully Suras is quite friendly towards Humans, calling us 'Reclaimer' and treating us like we're Gods. So my relations with the Diverted are _okay _-I avoid all of them except Suras, and they in turn avoid me. Other than that, there isn't anything else to talk about."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Does this mean we're done?"

I nodded. "If you have nothing more to talk about, you can leave."

"Thank you, doctor." David nodded before getting up off his seat and helping himself out.

That was my last patient for the day, so I didn't expect another person to walk in. But then again, this person wasn't a patient.

Rhine Dorhan took a seat opposite me, his eyes full of some deep sorrow -maybe that was why he was here. "Hello, Rhine, how can I help you."

Rhine let out a sigh, something was bothering him -but what? "We need to talk."

And here I was thinking that nothing could ruin my so far good day.

I was wrong.

* * *

**November 8 2547 [1546 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Medical Bay, Installation 06.**

**Courtney Jsarez...**

* * *

"Knock, knock."

I wasn't one to openly admit my admiration for Davis's sense of humor. But after being in intense pain -that I was still somewhat in- for more than twelve hours, I was more than willing to suck up my pride and have a good laugh. And I was in no way against having a good laugh after Lynda came and informed me that my brother was safe, we had a plan to leave the ring, and my pain would slowly begin to die down.

My pain had previously decreased a lot which must had been caused by Red being saved by these... _'Hybrids'_ But I still had a massive headache that kept my head pounding nonstop. And every inch of my body hurt. The docs informed me that with this herb, the pain would begin to decrease until it was barely there. But in the meantime, I couldn't move without hurting like hell. I could talk, laugh, cough, etc. But I couldn't even twitch my head or fingers. And how I wanted to twitch my fingers.

So I was looking up at the roof of the room with Davis on the bed next to me, telling me jokes to pass the time. He apparently hadn't healed yet. On the opposite side of my bed was the Marine that Red had almost killed in the mess-hall the day before. He was still in a coma, and the docs said that the emergency surgery on his skull was successful, but he would be lucky if he woke up before we arrived back to Earth. Harvad was laying on the bed on the opposite side of Davis. When I asked why he was here, he said that he was shot in the leg by a Covenant carbine while on a mission to get the herb.

I was reminiscence on whether they should have risked their lives for me. Currently I only heard that Harvad had been injured... but Harvad was unusually quiet compared to his usual quiet, but talkative and curious self. Something happened... someone died.

I didn't initially care because I was planning on dooming my entire crew, the Sangheili, and Humanity by not leaving this ring. But that was stupid of me, and I hated myself for it.

How could had I been so selfish as to let revenge blind me? I guess it could had been the unimaginable pain I was in. But it was still foolish of me. I only needed to hear Davis's joking attitude to remember that not all of Humanity is bad, and there are those worth saving. And even if there wasn't, the Sangheili needed saving. Well, that was if they were worth saving.

I didn't answer for a couple of seconds, but eventually replied with: "Who's there?"

"Henry Baker." Davis chuckled, obviously having something good in mind. Though I couldn't see it; 'Henry Baker' made no sense.

I let out a small smile. "Henry Baker who?"

"What do you mean?" Davis snapped, almost making me jump. "We've known each other for years; _fucking hell_, I'm here because you invited me for a barbecue."

I let out a chuckle as the doc next to me who was assigned to over-watch me let out a chuckle as well. Harvad, however, remained silent.

"That's a unique spin." Chief Medical Officer Howard Klyn remarked. From the location of his voice, I concluded that he was over at his desk by the entrance to the bay, going through data on his Data-pad.

Klyn wore a basic doctor coat with the badges and insignia of being the Chief Medical Officer covering the coat. He had to had been in his 50's with his hair balding and graying and deep wrinkles beginning to appear along his pale face. But other than that, he had a fairly average face; dark blue eyes, high eyebrow bridges, a round nose with thin lips and a sharp jaw. His build was also fairly nice, but that was to be suspected after I heard that he had the tendency of going to the ships' gym for exercise. But he definitely wasn't ripped, but he was thin enough to attract a women if he didn't already have a wife and two children waiting for him back on Reach.

"Yeah," Davis agreed. "But believe it or not: _I_ didn't actually make this joke up."

"Who did, then?" The doc over-watching me asked. This doc was a female with the badges and insignia of a basic doctor on her coat, and her badge read 'B. Tarras' She was white pale and had a pretty, young face. It was a wonder that she hadn't been harassed by the crew. I also had the thought that Davis was only pretending that his arm was still broken to be able to spend more time around her -this theory was supported further by his silent flirting and chatting with her.

"My father." Davis replied.

"Was he a comedian?" Harvad asked Davis. This was the first time that Harvad has spoken in a while. But I kinda understood his question as he was an aspiring war poet and his father was the same. Perhaps this was a good way for Harvad and Davis to connect as I heard from reports that Harvad had had trouble interacting with his comrades due to his low social skills.

"Yeah," Davis confirmed. "He even appeared on TV a bit, though you wouldn't have heard of him."

"Like father like son." Harvad chuckled. "Same with me. My father was a war poet, and becoming a war poet is an aspiration of mine."

"Guess this crew is full of people aspiring to be like their fathers." Davis joked.

"Not me," Klyn interjected. "My father is a robber of three different banks; he even murdered a cop."

"Sorry to hear that." Davis replied, sorrow in his voice.

"It doesn't really bother me. He was never close to me and my mother; always visiting brothels, getting drunk, gambling -you know, typical drunken, unfaithful, fatherly stuff."

"I'm still sorry." Davis said.

"Thank you." Klyn thanked Davis, gratitude in his voice. I read Klyn's psych report, and took into attention how oblivious he was of his father's actions. But he seemed upset when people said something bad about it as he cut the finger off a Marine who mocked him right to his face with a scalpel. It took a lot of pleading to NAVCOM before I managed to convince them to let Klyn off the hook. The Marine wasn't so happy, and took me to the court in turn. It was a big month; me going to court to defend Klyn, me going to court to defend myself, then me going to court to try to court-marshal the Marine for harassing Klyn. Thankfully, as usual, I got my way each and every time.

"I'd be morally wrong not to say sorry." Davis mumbled.

"Chief," Doctor Tarras called Klyn. "It's been ten minutes."

"Okay dokey." The Chief said. I heard his chair scrap back on the tiles as he got up and walked over to me, appearing over me with Tarras on the opposite side of my bed, doing the same.

"Captain, try blinking five times." Klyn told me.

I blinked five times, pain thumping through my head each time.

Doctor Tarras got her Data-pad and stylus out of her coat pocket. "How did that feel?" Klyn asked me.

"A thumping, pressure like pain went through my head each time. It wasn't enough to make me grunt, but enough to keep me unfocused during operational duties."

Klyn placed his gloved hands on either side of my head, slowly turning it to its' sides. I couldn't help but let out a small grunt of pain at the movement. "Does this hurt?" Klyn asked me.

"Yes." I confirmed.

"Okay, we'll give it another ten minutes for the herbs to kick in before trying again." Klyn concluded, writing down his assessment onto his Data-pad.

"Thank you, doctor." I thanked Klyn. Klyn nodded in return before walking back towards his desk.

"This sucks." Davis muttered.

"What does?" I questioned him.

"What's happening to you."

I let out an oblivious moan. "Can't be helped."

"I suppose not." Davis sighed as the doors to the medical bay hissed open.

"Officer on deck!" Davis called out. I heard him leap out of his bed and likely salute whoever it was that entered the room.

"Wounded aren't expected to maintain standards." White's voice told Davis.

"Where and when was this mentioned?" Davis questioned White, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"It wasn't. A soldier should be smart enough to use common sense."

"That's stupid." Davis observed.

"I don't make the rules, Corporal, I just reinforce them."

Davis let out an annoyed moan. "How am I meant to take this up with HIGHCOM?"

"You don't." White replied. Davis let out an annoyed groan as he jumped back onto his bed as White began walking, his footsteps indicating that he was heading over to the beds. He was here to either speak with me or Harvad. It was likely me. Oddly enough, when White came to give the docs the herb, he began talking to me, telling me that my brother was safe in an almost happy manner, and reassuring me things would be alright. He seemed very distracted in looking at me. I think he might had been attracted to me. How was I meant to react to this? I had no idea. I didn't want to start any sexual relationship with anyone until I found my brother. But I found him, so now what? Did I even like White? He was... hot of sorts; having a typical strong Marine build with a strong face, sharp green eyes, and a thin mouth along with his dark brown hair being shaved off to a 3 with a thick stubble growing across his face. He was definitely a ladies type of man, and he stood taller than anyone else on the _Kryptonite _-the only exception being Red. And he was around my age. But I hardly knew anything about him, and hardly have ever talked to him. Did I have it wrong? Was he attracted to me? He had no family back home, and was never married. Was he a virgin? I didn't think I could handle walking someone through having sex with me. I quickly realized I was getting ahead of myself, and getting myself sexually arouse at the thought was the last thing I needed.

White seated himself on the chair next to my bed. I couldn't see him, but I could smell the deodorant he was- _why the fuck_ _was he wearing deodorant?!_

"How have you been, ma'am?" White asked me.

"I've been better; I've been worse. Can't say that this is what I want for my average feelings."

White let out a small chuckle. "How's R- Sierra-098?" I asked him, quickly correcting my mistake.

"The surgery was a success, and the Gravemind's spore was successfully suppressed. Though the Monitor had warned us that the Gravemind would still be able to take control of Red for at least five minutes once a day -maybe more on occasion. Oh, and ma'am, you can call him Red -the entire crew knows everything."

That was bothersome as I was not quite ready for my crew to know, but I nevertheless put it aside and let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear, and fortunate; _where the hell_ did those floating orbs of annoyance find the stuff to do the surgery?"

"Apparently there's a storage facility on this ring that has all the necessary supplies. And thankfully this storage unit hasn't been captured by the Covenant or the Flood. But to avoid any more.. _inconveniences _to happen if the Flood or Covenant _did_ take control of the facility, Keyes ordered the Monitor to have its' Sentinels shift as much of the storage onto the _Kyrptonite_. Keyes did the same with the armor and weapons, but the Monitor has informed us that the Covenant have gained control of the ring's armory."

"Shit," I growled. "Covenant running around with that tech? We'll be screwed if we have to engage."

"The Monitor told me that the weapons and armor have a fail-safe if they were ever captured by the Flood, and Keyes ordered it to initiate the fail-safe."

"So the weapons and armor are destroyed?"

"Yes, ma'am. And as a bonus, that fail-safe went boom."

"A lot of dead Covies?"

"A lot," White confirmed, amusement in his voice. "And as a bonus to that bonus, the Monitor said that the facility was full of Jiralhanae -meaning that the Prophet of Pity likely sent in his Brute pets to secure the place over an Elite scout team. So 'Lodam is happy as well."

"And I care that he is happy _why_?"

"It's better than him being pissed, ma'am, especially after Red tried to kill him."

"Harvad told me about that; they didn't hurt each other, did they?"

"'Lodam seemed to understand that Red needed to remain alive. But he was, nonetheless, _betrayed _by Red's actions."

"He trusted him?" I asked, astonishment in my voice.

"Amazingly, yes. 'Lodam is pissed and hurt that Red betrayed him -according to what the Monarch has told me via watching him and his Diverted bitch about it in the officers' lounge."

"That's sad. But frankly I really don't care about what he feels as long as he doesn't try to do something that will be against our best interest."

"Well, believe it or not, ma'am, Red seemed to be 'Lodam's faith in Humanity. As long as Red stayed loyal and truthful to Red, 'Lodam trusted Humanity. Now..." White trailed off.

"This could be bad." I concluded.

"Very bad, ma'am," White agreed.

"What about these _'Hybrids'_?" I questioned him.

"They've been bought aboard the ship; quarantine was to be held but the Monitor assured as that they're clean. They're currently being held in the brig with the Monarch and Doctor Day communicating with them. We'll know more within the hour."

"That's good." I remarked. "Oh, where's Red now?" Red wasn't in the medical bay which meant that he was either in recovery, or up and about. The second option seemed unlikely as I was still in a lot of pain.

"He's in recovery, ma'am, No doubt he'll be drowsy when he wakes up. And if the Gravemind takes control of him again, there may be a problem of the Gravemind wanting revenge against Colonel Keyes."

I let out a sigh. "Isn't there anyway we can remove the spore?"

"According to the Monarch and Monitor, the spore can't be removed without killing Red."

"How does that work?"

"Well, if we try to remove the spore, the Gravemind will just destroy the brain -taking Red down with it as a 'fuck you' to us. I have the docs thinking up an idea on what to do."

"Hopefully something will come up," I mused. "But it's really fucking irritating that the Forerunner's couldn't figure any of this out."

"Well -from what the Monarch has told us- the Flood attacked the Forerunners almost out of nowhere, and they had little time to react, and spent most of their time developing _weapons _to combat the Flood. They tried to research cures, but nothing ever worked."

I groaned in annoyance. "The Forerunners: The Most advance race in the Universe, yet they keep fucking up all our plans and inconveniencing the fuck out of us _from beyond the goddamn grave_!"

"'Beyond the grave'?" Davis mused "Looks like the Forerunners are the champions of every Human war game currently running."

I let out a chuckle as White in turn smirked. A thought just came to my find, I needed to question White on something. "White, who died trying to get this herb?"

White narrowed his eyes, seemingly confused about how I knew. But he quickly replied. "Mary Trinsky, and Peter Call are KIA, ma'am,"

I let out a sad sigh, and began twitching my fingers against the docs orders with Tarras quickly -but calmly- grabbing them and stroking them to calm them down. "I appreciate your efforts for me, Captain, but I _really _wasn't worth the loss of life."

"Yes you were, ma'am," White quickly interjected. "No one else can get this ship back to Earth intact. As hard as it sounds, two lives are more than expendable for you to become operational. And it wasn't all meant to be about getting the herb; we were meant to encounter this Elite Spec-Ops team that 'Lodam hoped to communicate with -that was the only reason he chose to accompany us up there."

I let out a sigh. "As much as I hate your point to its' core... it has enough leverage and logic to persuade me from giving you an earful."

White grabbed my hands and held them together over my chest. I almost jumped at his physical contact with me. "It hurts me to say it as much as it hurts you, ma'am. But it's always the hard shit that's the true shit."

"It's also the healthiest shit." Davis joked from where he was laying. White let out a grunt of annoyance and I couldn't help but chuckle. Despite the deep topic me and White were discussing, Davis had the bulls to try to pull a joke, and I could respect him for that. You didn't need to charge head-first into battle to have bulls.

After my chuckling died down, I let out a sigh. "Doctor, should I be in here overnight?"

"Chief?" Tarras asked Klyn who no doubt heard my question.

Klyn let out a sigh. "All the pain your feeling is mental -not physical. So you should be able to leave as soon as Sierra-098 is up and about. But I'd like you to report any pain you're having -headaches, nausea, drowsiness, fatigue, pain in your joints, anything because due to Sierra-098's high pain threshold, he may not be able to pick up on any potential life threatening symptoms."

"Got it. It'll be nice to sleep in my bed again; it may had been one night, but it feels like an eternity."

"Technically, it's the UNSC's bed." Davis jokingly corrected me.

"Too bad." I grumbled.

"Right," White got up from his seat next to me. "I'll let you get some rest, ma'am. No doubt you'll need it for when you meet with your brother." That was right, my brother had broken through his supposedly 'fake personality' -that was at least what Lynda told me. But I had my brother back. But there was a problem.

"I'm not yet ready to face him." I admitted. For the past twelve or so hours, I had wished death upon my brother so my pain would end. And during those hours, I was driven to near insanity by a false hatred I had for Red for some reason I forgot. It sounded so stupid that I hated him for reasons I couldn't remember, but I just couldn't explain it to myself. And with these two facts, I needed time to think about what I'd say to him.

"It's okay, just take your time." White calmly advised me.

"Thank you." Despite my limited relationship with White, he was a good person. Lynda even said that he was the first to volunteer for the mission to find the herb for my treatment, and she seemed to think it was more than just loyalty that he did it. The thought of White caring for me seemed strange and untrue, but he really did care for me by the way he acted around me lately -he couldn't deny it.

There really was no way I could thank White for what he had done for me; no way I could repay him for the two Marines he watched die for me. But there was something I could do. I could repay him with getting to know him as he clearly wanted to get to know me. I still had no idea why he was wearing deodorant. But narrowed it down to him being either an idiot, or trying to attract me to him.

I couldn't have asked him at the moment for obvious reasons, but when I was back in my quarters, I would invite him for dinner. I was already planning on having a feast, and I was planning on inviting Lynda, so why not have White there as well. Despite my rooms size, it did have room for a small table able to fit four, and that would be enough. And with Lynda there it would prevent any moves White would make on me as I_ really _didn't want to enter some type of sexual relationship with him or anyone at the moment.

But knowing Lynda, she would encourage it as she had tried to 'get me a stud' ever since I met her. 'Stud'? I wasn't that old. But that was Lynda -always the joker when it came to interacting with me.

But if push did come to shove, would I embrace it? Did I want to make that type of commitment... did I want to take the risk? I thought Eric might had understood my reluctance... but he instead raped me and left me with a child that I had murdered. Would White be the same? Did I even want to be happy? I found Red, so I could be happy. But I still didn't know if this was the Red I once knew... if it was my brother.

I was torn between the two different paths. One was to be happy with White but risk being hurt again. And the second was to avoid a relationship with White, and miss out on the potential to be happy with White. Perhaps I was getting ahead of myself; I didn't know much about White, but it was obvious that he was interested in me -I knew men enough to pick up on it. Plus, there was the damn deodorant.

I ultimately decided that if it came down to it, I would simply do what I was very good at doing: Improvising.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** This one was a little tougher to get out as I had my friend staying at my place for the past week, and he basically hogged my computer during that time.**

**A new person has decided to follow what's happening with this FanFic, and I would like to thank Reichenfaust for his kind review and decision to stick around until the very end! Though that end may take a while for I will announce now that I'm planning on doing future FanFics that follow these characters.**

**Also, Reichen, if you want an OC featured for you please tell me the details in a review or P.M. **

**Speaking of OC: David Larson was created by The Constitutionalist who gave me a shit ton of info for his character that will involve me researching a lot of subjects to get everything accurate.  
Also, I hope I got David right, ConList, but if there are any problems, please tell me in a review or P.M and I will immediately fix it. I'll even redo the entire segment with him in it if I got his personality wrong. But if he seems too friendly, it's only because he is kinda close with Campbell.**

**Speaking of Campbell, I'm not quite sure if every _Charon_-Class Light Frigate has a military Psychologist stationed on it, and think about it: Two ONI Agents, a ODST Fireteam consisting of criminals employed by ONI, advanced tech... this isn't your average _Charon_-Class Light Frigate, and more will be explained in the future.**

**Please point out any typos or lore mistakes in a review and I'll immediately fix them while crediting you -if I remember it. Please also review about your personal opinions on the chapter as I love reading reviews like that. Constructive criticism is not required, and hate mail will be met with a severe retaliation (Hoping you can delete comments on your own FanFics)**

**I also suppose you're all wondering what's happening with Vale Nar 'Sarasee. Well, he got pretty beaten up, so I'm planning on having him in a coma for a bit because of it. But as you may have seen in the Special Chapter, Careekius has things handled, and you aren't missing out on all the action, and there isn't a civil war going on between the Sangheili and Jiralhanae -the Great Schism hasn't begun yet ;D**

**********************************************************************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, THE REVIEWING MASTER,**** gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7, goldmonk, ArmoredFury, Mumble8, ultimate idiot, SpeedyNaomi, Hunter092, ShootingKill, hi ace50, SomeRelic, Pure Onyx, flaze, Rogenberg, BLASINGDRAKON, The Constitutionalist, Reichenfaust.**


	29. Chapter Twenty-Seven: Dinner

**[ CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: DINNER ]**

* * *

[UNSC-DP-SWMS-v.5.7]

[Date]-[8/11/2547/1748]

[To]-[Captain Dean White/SN: 00244-81437-DW]

[From]-[Captain Courtney Jsarez/SN: 99342-72810-CJ]

[File/Open/Begin]

Captain.

The docs finally released me, and I'm so far doing great. I'm still feeling Red's nausea from his surgery, and my head and brain hurt _like hell_, but the docs said that it's to be expected, and painkillers are starting to bring the pain down.

The pain I went through will leave me permanently scared for life; I don't need a doc to tell me that. And due to this, Klyn has recommended me for sessions with Doctor Joyce. Not quite sure whether or not I should go along with it as Freud has confirmed my suspicions of Joyce relaying confidential Intel of us back to ONI. But I suppose it doesn't matter as by the time what Intel he collects on me gets into ONI's hands, they'll already know that _I'm pissed_.

Anyway, back onto the point. Like I said, the pain I went through has left me mentally crippled, and I'm gonna sleep like a baby tonight. But first, I'm going to eat like a _pig_.

I've invited Keyes to have sushi with me as eating alone right now _doesn't really_ sound good to my ears.

Now, Keyes would be enough, but I wanted to also invite you.

You volunteered to save me, and you're not choosing to hate me over my state of pain getting Trinsky and Call killed. I can respect you for both your loyalty, bravery, and your logic.

I can't do much to thank you, though. But I think getting to know you better is a start.

I admit that it's not good for morale that I don't interact with my crew to the level that I should. But they never really cared, anyway. At least that's what Keyes tells me.

I want to change this... starting with you.

You can refuse, of course, and I won't resent you for it. But I'd really like it if you accepted... I have some _things _I'd like to discuss with you and Keyes.

If you do accept, dress in your normal fatigues, wear Clinshic Freshness, and bring a bottle of _Carlo Rossi_. Oh, and bring something for yourself if you don't like sushi.

If you decline, you better not act awkward around me as that will severely tamper out operational effectiveness.

Looking forward to your reply.

[File/End/Close]

* * *

**November 8 2547 [1842 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Captain Quarters, Installation 06.**

**Courtney Jsarez...**

* * *

The door to my room opened, and Lynda walked in with a plastic bag in her hands.

"I have to give credit to Petes; he knows how to cook sushi. Smells just about right."

I grinned; not many chefs on UNSC ships could cook food from _Earth _so perfectly unless they were Japanese. I fell in love with sushi after moving to _Pirth City _on _Arcadia_ that had a Japanese restaurant. _  
_

I befriended the family, and learnt a lot about Japanese culture, and I learnt a lot of things I did in the restaurant likely pissed them off or made me seem rude. The family didn't seem to hold it against me, and came to accept me as almost family.

They all died when the Covenant hit Arcadia.

Thinking about how such beautiful and friendly people died reminded me that those who served their killer were on _my _ship. 'Lodam, and his Diverted.

"You okay?" Lynda asked me, seeing the dark expression that appeared over my face.

"Just remembering." I didn't hear about the family's death until after I met Lynda back on _Earth_; I thought they made it by the reports. And when I heard, I broke down. And Lynda was there, caring for me when I hardly even knew her.

That's what a good Human was. And I needed to do the best to make sure Humans like her survived. And the opposite... ONI... they would all die.

Lynda walked past the bed I was sitting on, placed the plastic bag on the bench, and walked over to me.

I peered over to the bench with the plastic bag, and took a deep sniff of the smell emitting from it. I loved that smell so much, and the memory of the sushi I used to eat with that Japanese family bought tears to my eyes.

Lynda broke into a hurry and sat down on the bed where she comforted me. She knew what was happening, and she didn't say a word. All she did was place her hand on my head and shoulder, and hold me tight.

Lynda wasn't the type of person to show caring emotions around the crew. But when it came to me, she would comfort me no matter what. Thankfully, I never really needed comforting around the crew.

I quickly shrugged Lynda off and got up. "Sorry," I apologized. "I need to clean myself up before White arrives."

"Of course." Lynda nodded. I turned around and began walking to my private bathroom.

Despite my rooms size, it was definitely a Captains quarters with all types of home appliances. Next to my door on the left between where the front and left wall connected was a desk with my private terminal on it. My bed was on the right side of the door on my front wall, going along the right wall. By the end of my bed was the entrance to my private bathroom, and to the left of my bed where my head rested was a small table with a digital clock and a few other miscellaneous objects on it. Going across my back wall was the kitchen area with all the essential appliances. Going along the right wall leading up to my desk was the small table with a few seats around it. Everywhere save my kitchen and bathroom were covered in carpet while my kitchen and bathroom had tiles. The ceiling of my quarters was low with lights built into it. The walls themselves were kinda nice and didn't have the tubes, pipes, and cords that appeared along the walls in the corridors thanks to some shielding put up.

It was small, but it was enough for me.

I entered my bathroom and made my way over to my sink, sniffing. I looked up to the mirror and saw redness in my simple green eyes. I quickly wiped my eyes, attempting to get rid of the redness. I was tired, and still in a great deal of pain.

Eventually the redness began to die down, and I started washing the tears away from my face. I was pathetic. I couldn't believe I wanted to doom Humanity while in my state of pain. Even thinking like that insults the memory of that family. I didn't believe in supernatural forces, so no one could know what I was thinking. But I still needed to atone for how I thought. But how could I?

I was in the bathroom for a couple of minutes, and being worried, Lynda called out: "Courtney! You okay?!"

"Yeah." I replied, wiping the water off my face before leaving the bathroom.

Lynda had wasted no time getting plates and other utensils out and began dishing up the sushi. The box that the chef, Petes, packed the food in contained different variants of sushi from Makizushi -my personal favorite- to Inarizushi. The raw fish could often set people off -it set me off at first- but it's easy to work around. But I must admit that I originally found Japanese weird when I heard that they ate _raw fish_. I still hated myself for being so judgmental.

I ultimately came to find sushi to be my favorite food. It may had just been me, but I figured that it was always foreign food that was the greatest.

I made my way over to the table and seated myself as Lynda continued dishing the food up.

I was not surprised when White accepted my invitation. But I was surprised that his reply made no mention of the deodorant brand I joked about in the message. Perhaps he was too embarrassed to mention it -I didn't know. I still felt bad for putting that in, but Lynda convinced me after saying that White could take the joke. But did he really? Perhaps taking jokes from friends was one thing, but your Captain may had been another.

I didn't even know why people wore perfume and deodorant. I understood male teens' needs to wear deodorant. But why the heck a grown man? Whatever the case, I often enjoyed the smell.

"Captain," Timmy's voice said over my quarter's intercoms. "I am detecting a high stress levels and an increase of your heart rate from 78 bpm to 136 bpm; I recommend a cease of your planned dinner."

I would've normally scolded Timmy for what he said, but I realized during my state of pain that I didn't show enough appreciation, and that this was his personality -not him being annoying. Timmy saved the asses of me and the crew on a number of times, and I needed to make sure that he realized that I acknowledged and appreciated it without downright saying it out loud.

"Thanks for you concern, Timmy, but I'll be fine in a couple of moments." I placed my hand over my heart and began pressing down on it in an attempt to calm myself.

"Understood, ma'am. But it goes against the doctor's recommendation along with my own. If you feel dizzy, nauseous, or your chest hurts, please report it to me immediately without refraining due to current events."

"Gotcha, Timmy. I'll do so. And thanks."

"Of course, ma'am."

"That's odd." Lynda observed, bringing the wine glasses over to the table.

I figured she'd pick up on it; Lynda was one of the ones who knew very well that I got annoyed easily by Timmy. "I'm not gonna complain to him when he's just worrying 'bout me." I told Lynda.

"That hasn't stopped you before." Lynda reminded me, placing the glasses down on the table in front of the seats that me, her, and White were going to be seated in.

"I was an idiot before." I admitted as Lynda turned and made her way back over to the bench to finish dishing the food up.

"I hope you ain't realizing that for the first time."

"What." I coldly questioned Lynda.

"It'd be pretty crazy if you only realize now that you've always been an idiot," Lynda turned around and smiled. "I'm just fucking with you, Courtney."

"I still outrank you," I warned her. "You wanna get court-martialled?"

"Nope. But I think It would be funny to see the face's of those FLEETCOM morons when they see you taking your best pal to court."

"That would be pretty funny..." I agreed.

"Wanna try it?"

I laughed. Why the hell not? I was already planning on fucking up every law in the book to go against ONI, so why not fuck around a bit more. "Hell yeah."

Timmy's emotionless voice immediately cut in. "Captain, I highly advise you to reconsider your words."

Shit was what immediately came to my mind. As much as I didn't care what Timmy did, he could lock me out of the _Kyrptonite's _systems if he considered me doing war crimes and going against protocol. I could just have the Monitor or the Monarch kick his ass in turn, but the trouble wasn't worth it, and the spooks on the _Kryptonite _would surely find out about Timmy's reasons, and give me hell in return.

"I'm joking, Timmy." I calmly reassured the AI.

"You were?" Lynda asked, sounding annoyed.

"Of course I was," I confirmed. "I'm not stupid enough to try that!"

"To be honest, Courtney, I still don't really know how stupid you can get."

I laughed again. "And hopefully you never will."

"Glad that you have reconsidered." Timmy said. As much as I wanted to fuck with FLEETCOM, I didn't want to do anything that could harm Timmy. Plus, there was the chance that the fat-faced morons at FLEETCOM didn't know about ONI's bullshit, so they don't really deserve my backlash.

Lynda finished dishing up the food and bought the plates over to the table before setting them down and taking a seat. Not even a minute after he last spoke, Timmy's voice was heard again. "Captain, Captain White has arrived at your quarters, and is awaiting for me to request your permission to let him in."

I nervously smiled. "He can come in, Timmy, but tell the lazy bastard that he can let himself in."

"Affirmative, Captain." Timmy replied.

The doors opened to have White walk in, dressed in his off-duty military fatigues carting a bottle of _Carlo Rossi_ in his hands. What impressed me was his lack of a bag carrying his own food which meant that he liked sushi, or was willing to try something different.

It was rare that anyone not born on _Earth_ had tried sushi as the ingredients for it were not easy to come by. Thankfully Japanese chefs managed to adapt to growing the ingredients on foreign planets. And from personal experience, they taste exactly the same.

Lynda wasn't initially into sushi -thinking that she wouldn't like it. But all I needed to do was buy her one serving of Makizushi to make her instantly love the food. I was very proud of myself that I made Lynda admit she was wrong.

Lynda burst out laughing with me turning around to face her. I was about to ask what she was laughing about when I smelt it. White was actually wearing Clinshic Freshness. I couldn't help but burst out laughing as well -men were so stupid when it came to trying to impress women.

White looked confused at first, but eventually figured it out, and began laughing his head off as well.

Once we all stopped laughing, Lynda smashed her hand down onto the table, making me jump. "Dammit, White, haven't you learnt _anything_ over the years?"

"Excuse me, ma'am?" White asked, a shit ton of confusion in his tone and on his face.

"You haven't saluted." Lynda informed him, anger in her voice.

"Shit." he muttered, quickly placing the wine bottle down onto my terminal desk and snapping to attention.

I decided to play along. "Don't put the wine _there_!"

"_Fuck._" White muttered as he snapped the bottle back up into his hands, breaking his salute.

"I didn't say _at ease!_" Lynda snapped at him.

"Captain White," Timmy broke in over the intercoms. "After analyzing the tone and voice patterns of Captain Jsarez and Lieutenant Colonel Keyes, I have established that they are joking."

Timmy always ruined the fun. "_Thanks, Timmy_." I growled in annoyance.

"Apologies, ma'am, but your joking with Captain White was very inconvenient and unprofessional." He had a point, could White think me as a joking idiot? Did I just screw up my reputation.

"It's fine, Timmy," White chuckled. "I'm just glad to know that the Captain has the sense of humor that Colonel Keyes said she had." Could he read my mind?

I sighed. "Come take a seat, Captain." I gestured to the empty seat where his plate and glass were.

"Thanks ma'am." He nodded, making his way over to the table where he placed the bottle of _Carlo Rossi _down before taking a seat himself.

"So, you like sushi, Captain?" I asked White, trying to make up conversation as Lynda poured the _Carlo Rossi_ wine into each of our wine glasses.

"Haven't tried it before, Captain." He replied.

If he hadn't tried it before, why didn't he bring his own food in case he didn't like it? "You should had bought your own in case." I rolled my eyes.

White chuckled. "I've never not liked a foreign food after trying it. And I'm already a fan of rice."

"Not even raw fish?" I questioned him.

Lynda butted in while handing me my glass back. "Ma'am, if you actually remember the Captain's file, you'll know that he's eaten a lot worse than raw fish."

"What do you mean?" I questioned Lynda, noticing White redirecting his eyes in what seemed like shame.

Lynda turned her gaze to White. "Can I?"

"There isn't a reason you can't. "White replied.

Lynda returned her gaze to me. "He and his platoon were pinned down during a battle on Harvest. Supplies couldn't get flown in, and his boys were dying of starvation. So, doing what I consider admirable rather than disgusting, he began eating his dead comrades -raw."

"That was him!" I exclaimed. "I thought that was Frank Sullivan!" I was tired when I began reading my CO's files, so it was likely that I got facts and info mixed up.

"And like I said, you should had taken a rest instead of reading all the CO's files in one sitting." Lynda grumbled.

White was a cannibal... how did I feel about that? Lynda said she admired him for it... "You ate your friends..." I suddenly said, not thinking to hold my tongue. I instantly regretted saying that as I couldn't judge him like that.

Before I could apologize, Lynda spoke up. "Ma'am, I would do the same to your dead corpse and I expect my man to do the same to me. This war will cripple Humanity if we do manage to survive it; we can't take the risk of losing soldiers over what is morally wrong or right."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to say that." I apologized.

"It's okay." White reassured me, smiling as well.

"It just shocked me." I admitted.

Lynda let out a chuckle. "If you think _you _were shocked you should had seen me."

White chuckled as well. "Yeah, the Lieutenant Colonel tracked me back to the base I was stationed at prior to joining your crew and actually hit me; saying that I wasn't a soldier but a monster."

"But the Captain here has his way with words," Lynda added. "and he managed to convince me that his survival could save hundreds of people, and that dying over what is taboo wasn't worth those hundreds of lives that could be lost."

"And ironically, I _have_ saved thousands of lives." White added, but not sounding proud.

He was right. Back on _Quaint _he managed to successfully EVAC thousands of civvies from a city under siege by the Covenant. I intended to have him receive the Colonial Cross for his efforts, but never got around to the recommendation as it was the next day that the Monarch approached the orbiting Human fleet for assistance. I also felt shameful that I didn't try to get to know White more after his deeds, or personally congratulate him -I was a pathetic Captain.

"I was meant to congratulate you," I admitted. "I also intended to have you receive the Colonial Cross."

"Thanks ma'am," White smiled. "but you didn't have to congratulate me or do all the paperwork for the recommendation."

"A good Captain always shows acknowledgement for their crew's deeds." I calmly reminded him.

"You're already a good Captain." He reassured me.

"And a good person overall." Lynda added.

"Thanks." I smiled as I picked up my chopsticks and began carefully picking up my Makizushi rolls.

White looked at me curiously. "What are those?" He questioned me.

White grew up on _Itamin II _which wasn't know for its' Asian population, and likely had no idea what chopsticks were. "Chopsticks," I informed him. "Commonly used by the Asian Nations back on Earth instead of forks or knifes."

"Seems... _complicated_, Captain."White observed.

He had no idea. It took me months of using the chopsticks each day to get the hang of it. "It is." I confirmed.

"That's why I never use them," Lynda added, picking up her fork and knife before cutting up her food. "Life's already too complicated for me to have me try to learn complicated things that have no relevance."

I agreed with her. She didn't have an easy life as a Lieutenant Colonel, and was constantly stressed. I noticed that when she ate, it was almost like she was having a warm bath; like she was relieving stress.

It was the same with me. But I learnt how to use chopsticks before the full constraint of being a CO hit me.

I put the roll I picked up into my mouth while observing White put his own in his mouth. "Wow," White's eyes widened. "This is really good!"

Something was bothering me that I needed to get out-of-the-way. "Captain, not to bring up past events, but I'm _really_, _really _sorry about bringing up your past just then."

"Courtney..." Lynda sighed, using my first name in an informal matter that I didn't want her to use in front of the crew.

"It's fine, ma'am," White reassured me. "I think about them constantly every day, so you didn't make me remember anything I wanted to forget."

"Don't blame yourself," I told him, taking a sip out of my wine glass. "Now that you have explained why you did it, I'd likely do the same."

White let out a sigh. "I only hope that they would understand what I did if they were still here."

I decided to make a suggestion. "Do you have counseling sessions with Doctor Joyce?"

"No, ma'am; never really seen the point."

"It's right there." Lynda informed him.

"I guess..." White trailed off.

"Will you be so reluctant when I order you to see him?" I asked White.

"No, ma'am."

I let out a sigh. "Fuck regulations and protocol; call me Courtney."

"Finally!" Lynda grumbled. "I _hate _calling you 'Captain' and 'ma'am' it's annoying as hell!"

Timmy's voice sounded off as I predicted. "Captain Jsarez, I highly recommend you keep to a professional level as per protocol."

I let out an angry sigh. "Protocol can go screw itself because listed in these protocols is the damned law that said it was okay to kidnap my six-year-old brother along with who knows how many more and conscript them to fight _Humans_."

"Naval Code 45812 was put into effect by ONI without the knowledge of the UNSC and remains a Naval protocol -not a military protocol. So these facts conclude it irrational to disobey UNSC formality protocols."

I took this in consideration, and quickly gave my answer. "Timmy, I thank you for your commitment to uphold regulations. But I frankly don't care anymore. Do what you want in retaliation, but know that this ship ain't returning to Earth without me as it's _full _and _operational _Captain. Whatever happens after that can be of ONI's concern -not yours."

Timmy gave in. "Acknowledged, ma'am. I'll be making a full report to file when we return to Earth. I apologize for this turn of events as I saw great potential in your career."

I chuckled. "I only joined the Navy because it was connected to ONI. And getting to ONI was what I wanted more than anything as I knew ONI were behind what happened -who else could it be?"

"Whatever happens, ma'am, we're with you." White reassured me.

"Yeah," Lynda agreed. "I'm not gonna take orders from assholes that would sacrifice the innocence of a child for their own personal goals."

I smiled at their loyalty. "Thanks, guys. But all this talk of a future conflict against _Humans _has made me remember that we're meant to be having a nice dinner."

White chuckled. "Glad to know I ain't alone in thinking that horrific topics get bought up _way _too much."

"Well, I've got a topic," Lynda announced. "How 'bout getting to know each other."

I chuckled again. "Lynda, I know what your favorite color is, so I don't see the need to 'get to know each other'."

Lynda smiled like she was thinking of something, took a sip of her wine, and put her wine glass back down. "Oh yeah? What's my favorite color."

I smiled. I would first say what her color is, and then she would ask me how I knew about it. "Purple."

She slammed her fist down onto the table in annoyance. "_How the hell do you know_?!"

"You muttered it as I was taking you home from that club we first me at."

"You _remember _that small detail from all those years ago?" Lynda questioned me.

"Lynda, some of the things you said in that taxi will remain with me for the rest of my life." I chuckled.

White cleared his throat. "My I divert the topic?"

I nodded for him to continue which he did. "You said in your invitation that you needed to talk to me and Lynda about some stuff."

I let out a 'ohhh' of realization. "Yeah, that was mostly related to Red and ONI -what we just talked about. I was kinda gonna ask for your stance on it, but you guys made it clear."

"Well, I guess I have no reason to be here anymore." White got up off of his seat and walked over to the door where he opened it and walked out, leaving me and Lynda dumbstruck.

"_What the fuck_?!" We both exclaimed in unison.

Before we could continue, the door opened to have a grinning White walk back in. "Sweet revenge!"

"_Whatever_." Lynda grumbled as White took his seat again.

"Do that again, and I'll send you to the brig." I warned him.

He grinned. "And I'll have you court-martialled for illegally using your superior power for personal use."

He had me there, I must admit. But we were both joking -hopefully he knew that; his playful tone reassured me that he did.

We continued to eat, drink, and laugh all through the night with White telling us various jokes he picked up from the men, telling us the funny story about how he got one of his tattoos, and revealing dirty secrets of some of the COs. It was a surprisingly great night. I didn't learn much more about White other than how his personality worked. He had a good sense of humor, and was surprisingly comfortable around me -his Captain that he hardly even talked to. I guessed it helped that Lynda likely told him a lot about my own personality.

At around 2230 hours White retired back to the barracks, leaving me and Lynda to dwell on what happened. He seemed to like me; why else would he wear deodorant? Perhaps the first time at the med-bay was to impress the nurse, and the reason he wore it tonight was just to joke around. Wait? Did I get it messed up? Did he not like me after-all? Why did men have to be _so _difficult?!

There was about 5 minutes of awkward silence with us both thinking on tonight's events until Lynda spoke up.

"So, do you like him?"

Lynda wasn't smiling as I suspected her to when she asked me. Unlike the rest of the night, she wasn't joking around. As to if I liked him... "Yes." I confirmed.

"But you don't trust him." Lynda concluded. And no, I didn't. He seemed nice and all... but _so did _Eric. Trust was something that was really hard for me. The Japanese family, Lynda... I only trusted them out of the love I had for them.

"You're the only person I'll ever trust." I calmly replied, taking a last sip of my wine. This wine was made by a family back in the 21st century and their company was _still _running. Thinking about it, a lot of stuff from the 21st century were around in the modern years. It must had been due to the groundbreaking century the 21st century was. But wine? Must of sold good.

Lynda smiled for the first time since White left. "Lucky me."

"Not when I come to you with all my _girly emotions _that I need to talk to someone about."

"Helps that you _don't_ have any _'girl emotions'_."

I grinned. "You wanna bet? After tonight... after what I went through over the last 24 hours... I want to get my life back on track."

Lynda narrowed her eyes. "You always said that you didn't want to live life to its fullest until you found Red. But I don't know, I think you've done _pretty okay_ from what I've seen. I mean, I _met you _in a night-club. Now, if that's not living life to its' fullest, what the hell is?"

I shook my head. "No, no; there's a lot I've wanted to do, but never could bring myself to do so."

"Hmmm?" Lynda urged me.

"Like, get counselling over Eric." My parents originally sent me to a counselor after what happened with Eric. But as if to spite them, I never 'opened up' to the counselor about what happened; never told him how I felt, never talked about the child that grew inside me. My parents never listened to me about Red, and now they wanted someone else to listen to me about what happened with Eric. I wasn't going to indulge them; making them worried was what I wanted most -especially as after what happened with Eric, _THEY STILL DIDN'T LISTEN TO ME ABOUT CHRISTINA!__  
_

I let out a chuckle devoid of amusement at the irony.

In reply to my out-of-place chuckle, Lynda narrowed her eyes. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"You ain't thinking about seeing Campbell, are you?"

I rolled my eyes -more out of annoyance at Lynda's quite smart speculation. Despite it being false to why I actually chuckled, it did make sense that I would also probably chuckle in a similar matter if I _did _think about seeing Campbell.

"Lynda, that's _not _what I was chuckling about."

"Still, are you?"

I shook my head. "After you told me that Freud figured out that the bastard was relaying all our _juicy _personal conflicts back to ONI, no."

Lynda put her hand on her jaw, musing. "I wonder... Timmy, did you know about this?"

"The topic you wish to engage in is highly classified." Timmy's emotionless voice replied.

Lynda let out a sigh. "Why do I even bother? You know, even though FLEETCOM assigned us this damned AI, I bet he's frickin ONI."

My eyes widened at her words. I _never _even considered that Timmy was ONI. I mean, all his annoying attempts to uphold protocol and that was understandable for an AI of his personality. _But why the hell did he know so much about Intel that should had been classified to FLEETCOM_?!

I quickly regained my composure, leaving Lynda confused as hell. "You ain't-" I quickly shook my head for her to be quiet. It would be better if we spoke more about the possibility without Timmy watching us. The Monarch would be able to help as it already stated multiple times while in Slip-Space to Halo that if it wanted, it could pull Timmy apart bit-by-bit if it wanted to. Blinding Timmy from a single room so we could speak in privacy would be no problem for the highly advanced alien AI that had a nasty habit of pissing me off. Perhaps this was a chance for it to redeem itself, and actually be of a convenience other than just contradicting our efforts to get home.

But still, if Timmy was programmed by ONI, what the hell could happen? Could he override my orders when we arrive back at _Earth_? Take control of the _Kryptonite _and bloody lead us to an ONI orbital facility or something? Getting delivered to the hands of ONI before HIGHCOM or FLEETCOM would not be preferable. Parangosky was a dangerous person, and Timmy was not oblivious to my plans of crossing her. The thought of being in her tight grasp scared me. I couldn't allow that to happen; I couldn't allow her to stop me.

The Security Council had to know. And if they already did, if they allowed for Parangosky and ONI to do this... then no one would stop me from replacing Parangosky as the most dangerous person in the Universe.

* * *

**November 8 2547 [2249 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Recovery Room A-8, Installation 06.**

**Rhine Dorhan...**

* * *

The day had been great!

We found Sierra-098, got the Captain back, and found some possible allies that were apparently extremely effective against the Flood.

But then I had to tell Campbell that I was planning on killing all the crew-members he befriended.

He hated me the moment I mentioned my plan; I could see it in his eyes. And he refused to agree upon it; even if it meant his execution. So, to compromise, I agreed to not _actually _kill the crew but try to take them captive, and prevent unnecessary casualties.

It would be more risky for resistance, but others may assist us more willingly, and Hallas would feel much for comfortable about the whole thing, and the Monarch and the Diverted may actually be more cooperative.

Thinking back, I felt stupid to not have figured this out earlier. It was a much better plan that would have smaller risks, and actually spare people I _myself _called friends.

Now, since I had Campbell on-board, I got his advise on who to bring into the planned... _'mutiny'__  
_

Fireteam Night, Hallas, Campbell, and Timmy were already on-board. And I made the conclusion that Alex Giles would likely join due to his hatred of Captain Jsarez, and his own personal greed to get far in the Navy. I hated Giles, but we needed him.

David Larson would also assist us due to him being 'ONI material' He would not put personal emotions in front of him. The Fireteam that was harassing Larson may also assist us due to their personality traits; they're runts who don't care about nothing. The ODST Fireteam that got into a fight with Sierra-098 would also prove useful. And perhaps Sierra-098 himself. Though, He seemed back to his pre-indoctrinated self which might prove troublesome. It would be worse if he decided to assist the Captain.

I didn't want to act because whether I wanted it to happen or not, people would die. Tomorrow, I would speak to Captain Jsarez and try to convince her to lean towards reason and logic.

These thoughts were eating me up, so I temporarily put them aside. And with my head clear, I could finally speak to Sierra-098 who was in recovery.

Sierra-098 was lying on in a cot, tied down in case the Gravemind took control. There were armed guards all in the room with Sentinels backing them up, and the Monarch and Monitor were hovering above the drowsy SPARTAN, observing him.

Sierra-08 seemed... _normal_. But I needed to judge that for myself.

"How're you feeling?" I asked him.

Sierra-098 turned to look at me. His green eyes were pale, and red. His pale skin had dark lines going across it, likely his veins reacting to the Gravemind's presence. Looking at him, I only now noticed how normal in appearance he seemed for someone of a group that many at ONI consider machines. He had shaven dark brown hair, a scar to the left of his mouth where a mole of his was removed, a scar going along his scalp and ending above his right eye. He was huge, standing at 7'0" and weighing 290 pounds. And that was just without his MJOLNIR Mark IV armor.

"Terrible." 098 replied.

"Let's start with the basics: Do you want to kill any of us?" I questioned him.

Sierra-098 looked me dead in the eyes. "Just you."

I didn't waver. "I had no involvement in the SPARTAN II Program, Sierra, so watch you tongue."

Sierra-098 smiled. "That's not why I want to kill you."

Was it possible that he knew? If so, then how? There was no way he could! But why else would he want to kill me? With so many questions running through my mind, it was hard to keep my composure. He was a SPARTAN with the physical and mental alterations from the Flood; if he wanted to kill me, nobody would be able to stop him.

"Why do you want to kill me?" I questioned him, being careful not to let panic show in my voice.

"That doesn't matter."

"Yes it does!" I replied, letting a bit of anger show in my voice.

"I can't say."

I was confused, but the Monitor thankfully elaborated for me. "The Gravemind's Spore has control of 94.16 percent on this Reclaimer's brain. This Reclaimer cannot say or do anything without the Gravemind's Spore's approval first."

That annoyed me. "Didn't you say that you _suppressed_ the Gravemind's control over him?!"

"We only prevented the Gravemind's Spore from taking physical and verbal control of this Reclaimer -save every minimum: 16, to maximum: 23 hours for the minimum of 5 minutes to the maximum of 17 minutes -approximately."

"So, he can't say or do anything unless the Gravemind lets him, but the Gravemind can only take control of Sierra-098 once per day for a couple of minutes?" I double checked.

"That's not my name." Sierra-098 coldly informed me.

The Monitor ignored him, and continued. "Affirmative, Reclaimer."

"Also," The Monarch added. "the Gravemind's Spore has the ability to anonymously access every source of intelligence and info currently stored in the Universe from whenever, and where-ever. The Gravemind's Spore also has the physiological ability to examine and see the thoughts, memories, and emotions of any individual of any species at anytime, and at any location -no know exceptions."

I couldn't keep myself from gaping. "_How_?!" I said in fear.

The Monarch replied. "Unbeknownst to us until now, the Gravemind has not only integrated itself with Forerunner technology, but technology of a species even older and much more advanced: The Precursors."

The Monitor broke in. "This doesn't add up to a logical conclusion as the activation of the Installations destroyed all architecture of Neural Physics in the radius of 25.000 Light Years from each Installation's location -effectively on a galactic scale. No Precursor artifact could had survived the activation; this artifact contradicts logic."

"As do the species you refer to as 'Hybrids'." The Monarch added.

"Are they connected?" I asked them.

Sierra-098 was one the to reply. Though, it wasn't him. "We lacked a unanimous establishment that merging all life forms together was a triumphal act."

What are you saying?" I questioned him. It seemed as if the Gravemind had chosen now to take control of him verbally.

"Even the Precursors had internal struggle." The Monarch observed, clarifying for me as well..

Red smiled. "Endeavoring to cease our proceedings, our brothers have dispensed us a true armament of anguish."

"The artifact was meant for you, Reclaimers." The Monarch clarified.

That made no sense; they said all of these 'Precursor' artifacts and Neural crap was destroyed when the Halos were activated. So how was this artifact here? "But how?" I asked the Monarch. "How can it be here if all Precursor artifacts were destroyed?"

The Monarch turned to face me. "Both the Hybrids and the artifact are not of this Universe."

This could be either really bad, or really good. Only time would tell.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks again go out to anyone who has read this far.**

**The ending of this chapter may be confusing for people. Thankfully I made Rhine out to be just as confused which would provide an excuse for the Monitor and Monarch to elaborate for him. Still, you might not get it unless you've read the Forerunner Saga by Greg Bear. I myself haven't read the Saga as I initially felt that the Forerunners would be too complex for me. But I did pick up a lot on the Halo wikis which helped me understand, and I don't really seem the need to read the Saga. Perhaps I'll get around to it one-day.**

**Not quite sure what I'm gonna do for the next chapter. Right now the _Kryptonite _is making its' way through the all-service tunnels to the exit that will allow them to escape Halo. This will take some time, so I might be able to fit in some characters arcs. I'll make sure to forward the story as well so people don't think it's just filler. I'll also be sure to skip time a bit faster. I shouldn't need to _really _develop the characters in a single chapter as I'm planning on doing it naturally over time -this ain't an Anime.  
****But still, some quite time will be good for the characters. And building up to the mutiny will be good as well. **

**I'm hoping to get around to bringing Vale back into the picture soon. But how long do you expect someone to be in a coma after being beaten to near death by a pack of Brutes?**

**********************************************************************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, THE REVIEWING MASTER,**** gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7, goldmonk, ArmoredFury, Mumble8, ultimate idiot, SpeedyNaomi, Hunter092, ShootingKill, hi ace50, SomeRelic, Pure Onyx, flaze, Rogenberg, BLASINGDRAKON, The Constitutionalist, Reichenfaust.**


	30. Chapter Twenty-Eight: Personal Grief

**AUTHOR'S NOTE [I recommend that all my regular readers who skip A/N read this, that's if there are any at all who skip as I suspect my regular readers have the decency to read the A/Ns]**

To those who may not have seen a review I did on chapter 27 (or 29) of this story in reply to Starart123 and ARandomReviewer's reviews relating the realism of White and Courtney's... 'romance' (Taking a page from Mass Effect) I recommend you read this.

I'm a 16-year-old lad who's only experience when it comes to relationships is that of a birds and bees book my mom bought me because it seemed _so _much more easier than sitting down and talking to me about it (which it probably was) This book also only covered how relationships with young adults/teens that went to school -for the record, I never finished primary school, and have been home-schooled since I was... 9/10 -I think.

So, with these facts in mind, you need to understand that I have absolutely no idea on how a relationship between a 37-year-old Captain with severe trust and touch issues, and a however old I end up making White soldier whose experience with this stuff matches my own works.

So, I guess I kinda took another page from Mass Effect. But then I remembered that the relationships in Mass Effect had a build up, and that's a problem here as I openly admit that I rushed the hell out of White and Courtney's relationship. Again, this comes out of inexperience with the whole damned thing that's more complicated than learning Japanese.

Also, upon hearing what Starart123 thought of White and Courtney's... 'romance' I came up with some other conclusions that are _huge _contradictions.

First: Lynda knows more than anyone else in the Universe about what Courtney's going through with the PTSD from Eric, and I think it goes against her character for her to just leave Courtney alone with White in hopes that they will 'hook up' as she would know how uncomfortable Courtney would be. So, Lyndakey1, sorry for turning your OC into an asshole.

Second: Being reminiscent, I don't think Courtney would change her mind, and want to sleep with White in the end. I made her do so in an attempt to 'rush' their relationship, and again this matches my inexperience in the whole damned thing.

Third: For a story I'm trying to make unusually dark for the Halo Universe, I sure did put a lot of effort into making that particular chapter seem like something out of Home and Away (An Australian soap opera that has run for the past 25 or so years that prides itself in advertising with popular quotes as: 'Australia's most loved brothers' or 'Australia's most loved wedding' when really, Tyrion and Jamie Lannister are Australia's most loved brothers, and the Purple Wedding is Australia's most loved wedding. God, you'd swear that Australians don't watch Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad)

So, with a slight bump in my story telling, I have concluded it best that I go back and edit the whole thing out. I didn't do this out of pressure, but in response to some criticism that made me realize that I did a few things wrong -similar to chapter one with Red touching the Zealot's energy sword while defending himself. Though, I admit this is much more embarrassing for me.

The only things I've changed is that White is the first one to leave, leaving Courtney and Lynda to talk about how Courtney feels about White. Everything else before the speed-up through the dinner, and after remains the same. I've also renamed the chapter from "Happiness (Blarg)" to "Dinner"

Now, in case you don't want to go back and read the one thousand or so words that I edited, I will explain what happened in this A/N

White retires to the barracks, and Courtney suspects that he doesn't in fact like her, and actually wore the deodorant the first time to impress the nurse, and wore it to dinner as a joke in reply to her invitation.

Lynda asks Courtney if she likes White in which she replies with yes.

Lynda concludes that Courtney doesn't trust White, though. And Courtney is reminiscent that the only people she ever trusted were those she loved.

She says that Lynda's the only person she trusts.

Upon joking around a bit, Courtney says that she wants to get her life back on track in which Lynda replies that she didn't even believe that Courtney never did live life to its' fullest -her claim is supported when she points out that she met Courtney at a night-club.

Courtney mentions that one of the things she wanted to do to get her life back on track but refused to do was talk to a counselor about Eric raping her. She then remembers that her parents sent her to a counselor, but she never talked about it to the counselor to spite her parents because they never listened to her about Red. She also gets angry when she remembers that even after being raped by Eric, her parents still didn't listen to her about her teacher Christina.

Remembering the irony, she lets out an emotionless chuckle that Lynda thinks meant that she was planning on seeing Campbell Joyce for counselling (relative to Courtney mentioning counselling for her being raped)

Courtney assures Lynda that she wasn't planning on seeing Campbell because Lynda told her that Freud worked out that Campbell was secretly sending ONI reports about their personal stuff -without their consent.

Lynda then starts musing, and asks if Timmy knew about what Campbell was doing (which Timmy should have known due to his access to all of the _Kryptonite's _systems)

Timmy replies saying that Lynda was asking something classified. Lynda then jokingly thinks that Timmy may had been assigned to them by FLEETCOM, but was secretly working for ONI.

Courtney then realizes that Lynda was likely right, and that Timmy was probably assigned by ONI to spy on them. Courtney then worries about how Timmy being an ONI AI could affect them, and fears that Timmy might take control of the ship when they reach Earth, and take them to an ONI orbital facility and prevent her from contacting HIGHCOM and FLEETCOM.

Courtney fears about what would happen if she fell into Parangosky's hands, and frets that she needed to see HIGHCOM's Security Council. She then darkly thinks that if the Security Council knew about the SPARTAN II Program and allowed ONI and Parangosky to initiate the Program, that she would personally make herself known as a more dangerous person than Parangosky (Which is saying a lot since Parangosky is known to strike more fear into the coldest of ONI personal's hearts than the entire Covenant Empire could ever dream of doing)

That's when Courtney's POV ends, and it switches over to Rhine's POV. I hope these changes are more beneficial; they actually change the plot into an exciting direction. Needless to say, things are about to get bad. So much for the quiet down time I mentioned, lol.

Tell me what you think of the changes in a review. And I'll be sure to consult someone next time when I do plan on hitching off White and Courtney's relationship. God I suck at this stuff.

* * *

**[ CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: PERSONAL GRIEF ]**

* * *

[JZ-4232 (Designated: The Monarch): _16807, a potential situation requires our attention._

[16807 Fleighted Fire (Monitor of Installation 06): _Please elaborate._

[JZ-4232 (Designated: The Monarch): _The Reclaimer Ancilla -designated: Timmy- has repeatedly blinded my visual at various times over the past thirty-three hours and forty-three minutes in certain rooms within the Reclaimer ship, for no particular reason. This goes against orders from the Reclaimer Captain dictating that I was allowed access to all of the Reclaimer ship's systems. As per protocol, I have not interfered. Though I deem it necessary to inform the Reclaimer Captain. I have also proceeded to do further research, and have discovered the potential for inner conflict with the Reclaimers within their military structure -especially for the Reclaimer Captain due to personal turmoil with a Reclaimer secret organization group. What do you conclude the right route?_

[16807 Fleighted Fire (Monitor of Installation 06): _Protocol dictates action! First mandatory action is to bypass the Reclaimer Ancilla's unusual security grid whenever the Reclaimer Ancilla initiates one next. Second mandatory action is to record a visual on what the Reclaimer Ancilla is attempting to conceal within these designated rooms. Third mandatory action is to analyze the recording and establish a verdict on the Reclaimer Ancilla's activity. Forth mandatory action is to relinquish the recording to the Reclaimer Captain. Compliance is mandatory -will you comply?_

[JZ-4232 (Designated: The Monarch): I will comply. I await the time where I can act on the first mandatory action.

* * *

**November 9, 2547 ****[0947 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC _Kryptonite's _Brig, Installation 06.****  
**

**Courtney Jsarez...**

* * *

The big bastard standing before me was the leader.

The brig was full of at least a hundred of the towering creatures, all clustered up. There were females, children, and males, and according to the Monitor, this was the extent of what there was of them on Halo. How they survived this long was a question too complicated for me to even try figuring out.

Out of all the creatures, this one was the most armored with Forerunner like metal covering its torso, knees, thighs, and shoulders with what I considered leather covering everything else with straps, belts, and buckles holding it all together. How the hell these creatures managed to harvest Forerunner metals was yet another question I decided to not ask.

This one also had warpaint on its' face, but not just any warpaint; the Monarch stated it signified its' status as the 'clan leader'.

On its' back was some type of spear being supported on its' back by a belt that ran across its' back, coming around its' torso where it connected up to the belt around its' waist. Its' tail also had armor, and there was an energy blade similar to that the Elite's used tired onto the edge of its' feline like tail. It also had finger guards on its' fingers which I found odd as a race this primitive surely wouldn't have been able to manipulate metal to that flexibility.

Its' head was the only part of it that held no armor, but there were small bits of metal sewn into its' skin around its' eyes. How they managed to achieve that was another question I decided too complicated to ask. But it must have hurt, and was also likely a dangerous operation. But it looked fairly nice and decorative -which again went against the races' apparent primitive nature.

Also, there was a small glimmer of light from were the creature's lenses were. The creatures only received the lenses earlier in the morning when the Engineer (ONI's official named for the Huragoks) finished making up enough for the more important members of the species.

According to Fleighted Fire, this one standing before me was named T'rakas. The 'T' at the beginning of its' name signified its' status as clan leader. Its' two sons were named J'Kraivas, and J'Vetlas. The 'J' apparently their status as the sons of the clan leader, while the 'as' at the end of their name signified the family they belonged to. The culture was easy to get your head around if you tried. But I wasn't attempting to learn their culture -save one.

The translating software the Engineer finished for the Hybrid's attracted the attention of an armory assistant -an odd-looking man by the name of David Larson. I didn't know much about him as his file seemed... _off_. But apparently he enjoyed talks related to culture, and got along alright with some of the more friendly members of the Diverted. I figured he might had been an asset if the Diverted got out of control for some reason in the future.

"Who created you?" I asked T'rakas. The Monitor and Monarch were in universal agreement that these creatures were created by the apparent Gods of the Universe -the Precursors. And their goal was to assist us. This all came from Red during one of his 'possessed sequences' -as I liked to call it- so the truth of it couldn't be validated. But according to the Gravemind, the Flood were created by the molecular dust of the Precursors that was actually meant to reform back into the Precursor's original form. Even the Gods of the Universe fucked up. But instead of trying to fix the fuck up, they embraced it, and decided that the Flood were a way to unite every living thing in the Universe into one single torturous mass with no free will.

Now, why would the creators of our Universe want such a fate for their creations? This was the part that pissed me off. Apparently the Forerunners went all genocidal against the more highly advanced race, and nearly completely wiped them out. The Precursors were, or course, pissed about this, and decided that this was punishment for the Forerunner's insolence, and that this would prevent any of their creations from rising up against them again.

When I heard this earlier in the morning, I screamed my head off at both the Fleighted Fire and the Monarch for their master's stupidity. Eventually, I managed to calm down, and became interested in what this Precursor artifact the Gravemind had integrated itself with was, and what these Hybrids were. From what we managed to get out of the Gravemind, it was possible that some of the Precursors didn't agree with the Flood. But the Gravemind decided to leave the full explanation on the Hybrids and the artifact to last, and unfortunately due to this, it didn't have enough time to explain about these two things as it finally lost the strength to maintain control over Red, and Red became conscious again. That reminded me: I wanted to speak to Red after this.

"Those who created you." T'rakas replied, the translation software making subtitles appear across my own lenses which translated its' language into English.

"And they are?" I questioned it, not accepting beating around the bush as an answer.

"The Precursors." That was better.

"Why?"

The creature twitched its' reptile-like jaw a bit. "To fight the Flood."

"But didn't the Precursors create the Flood? Didn't they want the Flood to consume all life?"

"Yes. Though not all agreed with this cause of action, believing it barbaric, and contradicting to their primary nature."

I began rubbing my jaw. "So why act so late to create you?"

"Acting sooner would be too obvious; there were already those who suspected opposition."

Slowly the puzzle was becoming unraveled. "How did you end up this Halo? How many more of you are out there?"

"We are all that exist. Both we and the Inspectoris Omnium were created in an instance via the manipulation of Atoms on this ring."

Fleighted Fire broke in. "Reclaimer, the day they arrived, a severe blast of an unidentified pulse ran across this installation. It is 87.6 percent possible that both the Unknown Species -designated by the Reclaimers as 'Hybrids'- and this blast are connected."

I turned to face Fleighted Fire. "Do the Precursors have to be close to do something like that?"

"Yes, Reclaimer." Fleighted Fire confirmed.

"And you couldn't pick it up or anything? I mean, I thought these things were _huge_."

"The exact size of a Precursor is unknown, Reclaimer. As per how I did not know of one or mores' presence: The radius required for them to manipulate the Atoms on this installation is larger than the installation's scan-grid range -for a more comprehensive explanation: The Precursors had to be close to manipulate Atoms on this installation, but not close enough that this installation's scan-grid could detect it."

"So, they just zipped into this system, created a species and an all-powerful artifact and zipped out?" I questioned Fleighted Fire, allowing anger into my voice.

"It is highly possible Reclaimer. But knowledge of the Precursors and their abilities is not within my function -what I have recently told you is what I have learned from the Monarch about the Precursors."

I turned back around to face T'rakas. "Alright, how about this: Why is the Monitor only _now _aware of this... Latin thingy?" I questioned T'rakas.

T'rakas twitched its' head and spines in confusion.

"Why am I only now aware of the Inspectoris Omnium? I had no previous knowledge of it until the surgery preformed on the infected Reclaimer." Fleighted Fire translated.

"The clan leader always maintained possession of it. The previous clan leader -my sire- was killed by the Flood recently when they attacked one of our outposts he was present at. The Flood then took the Inspectoris Omnium for their own use."

I was starting to get pissed. This was highly avoidable. "_Why_ was your dad at this outpost?"

"To encourage the warriors preparing to defend our kin against the Flood."

"Wait-" Lynda -who was accompanying me- interrupted. "You said that the clan leader always had possession of this... _Inspector Onimus_, so were your race always tribal in nature? You weren't ever less primitive?"

"We maintain the same intellect and society as we did at the dawn of our kin." T'rakas replied.

Now I was really pissed. "Then _why the hell _didn't you contact the Monitor earlier, and explain all of this to it?"

"We were told to await contact with the Reclaimers arrival on this Halo."

I rolled my eyes. "How could you be so sure that we would arrive at _this _Halo before the Flood broke out or something?"

"The interference along the Monarch's teleportation network was to redirect it to this Installation when it attempted to teleport to another Installation." T'rakas explained.

"That was _you_?!" I exclaimed._  
_

"No. This was the work of the Precursors." T'rakas corrected.

"Either way, 'Lodam's gonna be pissed." Lynda growled.

I could hardly contain my anger. If the Precursors didn't create that interference, the Monarch and the Diverted would've arrived at Installation 02, got the damn Forerunner ship, arrived back to their own fleet, and expose the truth which would have ended the war. so, who were the bigger assholes? The Precursors, or the Forerunners? I didn't realize 'till then how much I hated how the Universe worked.

"We're all pissed." I replied to Lynda.

"Still, I ain't gonna be the one to break it to him." Lynda replied.

"Do you have anymore questions?" T'rakas asked.

Oh, I had many. But there was only one more that needed answering at the moment. "What's your objective now?"

"To fight the Flood. Though, the Monitor of this installation has assured us that the battle against the Flood on this installation is almost at an end -hence why we agreed to leave this installation."

"Well, since there's no Flood to fight, now what?"

"We serve the Reclaimers until we encounter the Flood again." T'rakas replied.

"More allies," I mused. "Sounds good to me."

"Captain," Timmy said over the intercom. "The Monitor's scan of us with the Seer is completed."

"Oh, I was just about to mention this." Fleighted Fire happily announced.

"So, are we clean?"

"Yes. There is the Gravemind's Spore inside the infected Reclaimer's head, but the Spore cannot spread anymore Spores, nor can it shift from host. I will allow you to leave this installation with the infected Reclaimer only if the Monarch takes one thousand Sentinels and ten Enforcers back to Erde-Tyrene with you all -to suppress the infected Reclaimer in case he goes rampant. Any exceptions are unacceptable." Fleighted Fire explained.

"Sounds good." I agreed.

"Excellent. Now, I will need to continue to scan your ship within hourly intervals, and run any Reclaimer that has left this ship and returned through quarantine."

I quickly interjected. "That shouldn't be necessary; I don't see any reason to send my soldiers our there."

"Excellent." Fleighted Fire replied.

"Timmy, relay this info to the crew, please." I told Timmy, being cautious to be polite.

"Affirmative, ma'am." Timmy complied.

The sound of Timmy relaying the good news sounded off over every intercom -even the one in the Brig. Ignoring the AI's loud voice, I turned back to face T'rakas who was surprisingly still standing where he had stood for the past ten minutes. "So, your people gonna be okay staying down here? No offence, I just don't think it's a good idea to have you walking around the ship in case you spook the crew."

"We shall remain here until ordered otherwise by the Reclaimers." T'rakas replied.

"Good," I nodded. "I may have some more questions for you later. But at the moment I have too many, and I need to sort through them and figure out which ones are more important."

"That is not required for I shall answer whatever questions you have -no matter the time constraint."

"Thanks, but no. I have more pressing matters to attend to then ask questions all day."

"So be it. I shall take my leave." The Hybrid nodded in respect and I returned the nod with it turning around and making it- his way back towards his sons who were standing guard by the entrance to one of the cells. I had no idea what they were watching our exchange over.

Ignoring it, I turned to begin making my way out of the Brig when I noticed Larson was also leaving. "I thought you wanted to get to know these creatures?" I asked him.

Larson turned his head to face me. "Like you, I have too many questions. And I think it better I finish learning about Sangheili culture before moving on."

I nodded in understanding with Larson turning his head back around and continuing on ahead of us.

"He's an odd one." Lynda observed, coming up to my side.

"Yeah..." I agreed. "_'__Sangheili'_?"

"I think he's a little too close to them as well." Lynda remarked.

I let out a chuckle. "It's him being close that's an asset to us."

"Ahhhh." Lynda said as she finally got it before continuing ahead of me.

Thinking about what just transpired with the Hybrid leader, I continued after Lynda. But as soon as I exited the Brig, I saw Lynda engaged in conversation with Lieutenant Rhine Dorhan just outside. I was beginning to wonder when he would come to see me.

"You ain't getting past me to see her. If she wants to see you, she'll say so when she gets up here." Lynda told Dorhan. I was touched about her commitment to protecting me further from ONI.

Dorhan saw me, and called out to me. "Captain, could you tell the Lieutenant Colonel to stand down."

Lynda turned to look at me, narrowing her eyes in question. She had just as good reason to hate ONI as I did. After all, Red was her family as well. I didn't care if Dorhan knew about the SPARTAN II Program or not, he was still ONI. I nodded for Lynda to act on whatever she was planning.

And she did act, springing around to land a punch into Dorhan's face, sending him stumbling back where he grabbed a rail to support himself. Lynda didn't stop there, though, grabbing Dorhan by the collar and leaning him against the railing.

"_Don't act like you're in charge_," Lynda snapped at Dorhan. "One word from her, and you're _out_ the Airlock."

I smiled as I began to approach.

"Stand down, Keyes!" Dorhan ordered Lynda.

Lynda landed another punch into his gut. "Again, you _ain't_ in charge."

"Lieutenant Colonel Keyes," Timmy's voice appeared over the corridor's intercoms. "You are breaking multiple protocols; unhand Lieutenant Dorhan before the report I'm currently filing on you gets much worse than it needs to be."

"_Fuck 'em!_" Lynda screamed, tears bursting from her eyes. "Nobody hurts my family and gets away with it."

I was about to rush over to Lynda when I heard a voice. "What is going on here? Can I be of assistance?" I turned to see Larson standing there. I didn't even wonder why I didn't see him when I exited the Brig; he must have went down the left corridor upon exiting -not the right as Lynda did to stumble upon Dorhan.

"Thank you, but just continue down the corridor, Gunny," I told him. "This is between us."

"I was actually asking Lieutenant Dorhan." Larson replied.

"Gunnery Sergeant, they're physically assaulting me. Make them stand down." Dorhan ordered Larson

I at first expected Larson to turn around and go away as any loyal crew-member of mine would. But instead, Larson came forward. "Lieutenant Colonel, I ask that you release Lieutenant Dorhan immediately."

"ONI has _no_ jurisdiction here anymore," Lynda told him. "You're to ignore whatever he orders."

"Forget it, Lynda; he's ONI himself." I stated. It made sense; his odd behavior, his even odder file. How many on my ship were ONI agents?

"I advise that everyone calm down -stress levels and heart rate are increasing." Timmy warned us.

Larson kept coming, and both me and Lynda drew out Magnums and aimed them at him. "_Stand down!_" I ordered him.

"Lieutenant Colonel Keyes, release Lieutenant Dorhan."

"No, _no_, _no_," Dorhan began panicking. "Gunnery Sergeant, stand down, _now_ -_that's an order_!"

And just like that, Larson halted. I still kept my Magnum trained on him, though.

"Listen, I just wanted to talk," Dorhan told us. "And for the record: I had no idea about Section Three's operations until a few weeks ago. And treating me like I'm responsible is like treating any worker for ONI like they're responsible. Use your heads; I might as well beat up your entire crew because their COs attacked me; that's what you're acting like!."

I lowered and holstered my Magnum and turned and made my way towards Dorhan who was still being held up by Lynda, Magnum now at his head. "The reason you were beaten was because of your arrogance in thinking ONI still has some type of control on _my _ship."

"We still do, and will continue to until the end of this mission." Dorhan replied.

I stopped just behind Lynda. "Lynda, pass me your Magnum and watch Larson."

Lynda passed me her Magnum. I grabbed it before aiming it at Dorhan's forehead. Lynda's confusion quickly disappeared, and she immediately turned her head to watch Larson. I wasn't panning on shooting Dorhan, I just wanted eyes on Larson.

"Captain, Lieutenant Colonel, I advise you to stand down immediately."

Ignoring Timmy, I looked Dorhan dead in the eyes. "The mission that this ship was assigned when we first left _Quaint _is a _very _different one from the mission that is now. That mission being getting back to Earth, and going straight to the nearest FLEETCOM or HIGHCOM facility -not ONI as initially designated."

"Breaking mission parameters is a dangerous offence." Dorhan warned me.

"It's even more dangerous to fall into the hands of Parangosky with an AI and an ONI agent that have some nasty things to say about me."

"Cease now, and I _swear _you safety from Parangosky -she can be forgivable, and she hates the SPARTAN II Program as much as anyone out there."

I scoffed. "I don't give a shit. When we get back to _Earth_, I'm bringing ONI down to the ground with you, Parangosky and whoever else that was involved with the SPARTAN II Program."

"Listen to me, Captain," Dorhan began panicking. "There's this guy called doctor Elias Carter who predicted that the Insurrection would rip Human society apart. Top scientists at ONI further expanded on this, and concluded that Human civilization _itself _could be destroyed by the Insurrection. Now, the war ain't on halt for the Covenant; we have Insurrectionists and Covenant at every front; do you _really_ _think_ having the entire civilian population rising up is a _good _idea? exposing the SPARTAN II Program will _guarantee _Humanity's downfall."

Thinking about it, he was right. But then again, I had already thought about it, and already came to a conclusion. "I ain't planning on exposing ONI."

"Thank you-"

I pressed the Magnum further against his forehead to make him shut up. "The Monarch has filled me in with _a lot _of juicy details about the SPARTAN II Program; I know _everything_. But do not think for a second that I find the thing justified -_oh no_, it's even more disgusting that you would kidnap kids because of their _'ignorance' _and _'genes' _There were plenty of other courses of action to take to stop the Insurrection, and you chose the _cheapest one_."_  
_

I pressed the Magnum right into Dorhan's head, making him sweat as I continued. "I ain't gonna expose ONI. But I am gonna shove a stick covered in barbed wire up the wriggly old cunt of Parangosky, _personally _desex this Halsey whore before filling her with every biological chemical out there, beat this Mendez to death with _worst_ tactics than the barbaric ones he used on my brother and the seventy-four other six-year-olds. Along with these assholes, I'll kill every other son of a bitch that participated in torturing my brother and those kids out of their minds and into cold, heartless machines."

"We need these people!" Dorhan protested.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to act after the war with the Covenant is over." I grinned.

"Even after the war, we'll still need ONI."

"No, we won't." I released Dorhan, pushing him away.

Dorhan was about to continue down the corridor -defeated- when he turned to face me. "Humanity would be gone without the SPARTANs." He told me.

What was the moral there? Could I just accept that if my brother hadn't been kidnapped that Humanity would be doomed? How could I? No, I wouldn't think about what could have happened. This is what did happen, and I would kill those who made it happen.

"I don't care." I replied.

Dorhan took that answer, and turned back around where he limped back down the hall with Larson hurrying after him.

"Thank you for complying, and letting Lieutenant Dorhan go." Timmy thanked us.

I had had enough of the stupid AI. "_SHUT UP YOU TRAITOROUS ONI PIECE OF MACHINERY!_" I screamed, almost falling over to have Lynda catch me.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Lynda reassured me as I tried to hold the tears in.

Unlike what Dorhan likely thought, I wasn't oblivious. "Lynda, I need to see the Monarch."

* * *

**November 9, 2547 ****[0959 Hours] Human Military Calendar.**

**UNSC Kryptonite, Corridor D-08, Installation 06.****  
**

**Rhine Dorhan...**

* * *

Upon fully analyzing the current situation and their play outs, I had concluded what needed to be done.

I was a stupid moron. Not 24 hours ago, I had been planning on killing almost _everyone _on this ship _without even considering _the alternative solutions. I guessed this could have been caused by my inexperience with how ONI _really _works. A couple of weeks ago, I found out about pretty much every secret ONI had due to my new operational roll. When I did, all types of theories came to mind.

So when the Captain of the ship I was on found out about the SPARTAN II Program, I instantly thought that the Captain would try and expose ONI, and that the 'evil' ONI would want her and any crew members that supported her executed, and that even if I took them alive, they would still be executed. This was only furthered by my unfortunate encounter with Margaret Parangosky where I saw firsthand that the reports of her brutality were underrated.

I felt like I was submitting the crew to a terrible fate by agreeing to take them captive over killing them to gain Campbell Joyce's support. Dwelling on this, and musing out loud while in my quarters drew the attention of Timmy, who reassured me that Parangosky hated the SPARTAN II Program as much as any reasonable person would, and that she would not even consider executing the crew, and that I may in turn be executed if I executed them.

ONI were evil assholes, but they had a heart. Had I known that, Hallas might had slept better at night. When I told him that I was an idiot, he began treating me like an idiot more than I personally thought I deserved.

But I hoped that in the end, I wouldn't have had to try to capture the crew, that Captain Jsarez would listen to reason. To me, it seemed like she was deranged. So, I still had to imprison the crew, and have Timmy manually pilot the _Kryptonite _back to _Earth_._  
_

But why couldn't I just let Captain Jsarez take us back to Earth as she was planning on doing? I had asked myself this question over and over again, and I worked out the answer.

During one of the meetings the COs, Diverted, and AIs had when Captain Jsarez was in her 'State of Pain' The Monarch pointed out that if I deemed it necessary, I could lawfully take control of the ship myself. I said that there was no reason fro me to do so as it seemed unnecessary, and doing so may have raised questions. Now, I can't do it as the Captain would refuse, and her crew would gladly back her up.

On top of breaking this protocol, the Captain also planned on taking the ship straight to FLEETCOM. I wasn't informed about how many people knew about the SPARTAN II Program, but I had an idea that the officials at FLEETCOM had no idea, and letting Captain Jsarez tell them would, again, breach protocol. It was also breaching the mission parameters itself for her to take the ship and all the valuable intelligence we have to FLEETCOM and not straight to ONI. Again, I was in my rights to remove her from command.

Both the Monitor and Monarch would surely understand this, and would certainly assist me as it follows Human military regulations and protocol -so the AIs helping us was not a problem.

I still had no idea how this was all going to play out, though. For now, we needed more people. Now, I realized I didn't have to just approach people wanting credits, but people who would put loyalty to the UNSC above their loyalty for their Captain.

That was the current focus: To get more allies. Taking over the ship itself would be easy with the joint efforts of Timmy, the Monarch, and the Monitor. But detaining those who resisted was another thing. The Sentinels and Enforcers could help, but every crew member knew that they wouldn't attack as it goes against the Monitor and the Monarch's protocols to harm a Human, so the crew would have no problem with resisting the Sentinels and Enforcers.

Plus, there was the Diverted. I knew that getting caught up in a Human mutiny was the last thing they would want, and so we needed men to keep an eye on them, and to be able to keep them in a secure location. David Larson could help as he was the only crew member whose close presence to the Diverted could be justified.

The the train of thought sent my already sore head spinning. The Captain pressed the Magnum into my forehead harder than she realized. That, or she wanted to leave me with a pounding headache. I personally thought the latter was more truth-likely.

And it _was_ pounding. It was so bad that I needed Larson's support with making my way through the corridors to my quarters, the eyes of confused crew members on us, but not raising a word, likely knowing what happened.

There was one ODST who rushed to check up on me. Albeit, he was not someone I wanted close to me.

"You okay, sir?" Toless Morgan placed a hand on my shoulder.

Shrugging his hand off, I replied with: "Why do you care?"

"What's that attitude for?" Morgan asked in a confused tone, backing away from me.

Was this guy ignorant? Couldn't he figure out that I had it out against him? I raised my head to look at him, seeing his worst feature: His face. A face that made him look normal and friendly; was that how he did it? "What do you think?" I snapped at him.

"Did I do- oh, you must mean... I... I had no idea you would let my conviction get in the way of a cooperation."

His ignorance was driving me nuts; I couldn't take another moment of it. "You kidnapped, raped, murdered, and ate young models!" I snapped at him. We didn't need to watch out words as there was no one in the corridor we were in, and Timmy would warn us if someone was coming.

Suddenly, Morgan's face went from calm and emotionless to pure rage. "_Don't _remind me! I think about what I did every _moment_ of every _DAY_!"

I shrugged Larson aside and quickly approached Toless, placing my hands on his shirts' collar, grabbing him and bringing him close to me where I looked into his eyes. "Don't yell at me!"

Larson placed his hand on my shoulder, bringing me back. "Second Lieutenant, I recommend you continue down the corridor, and do not approach the Lieutenant on any future occasions."

Morgan nodded before going down the way me and Larson came from, as if this never just happened.

I let out a sigh. There were three members of Fireteam Night that were all vying for their spot on my most fucked up person alive list. There was Theodore Douglas who murdered dozens on a serial killing run he went on in the town named _Tenstal _on _Unias_ after planning and arming for it for months. He only a single motive: To make those who made him suffer all his childhood suffer in turn. This made no sense as his murders weren't selective, but random.

There was Toless Morgan who I personally hated due to his murder of Judy Walker who I grew up watching. We were both the same age, so it was like growing up alongside her. I watched every single one of her movies, and loved them all. And when I heard about her body -or what remained of it- being discovered after the stressful week it was for me after hearing that she went missing, I broke down as if I lost a family member.

Then there was Ivan Roras who molested over 200 girls between the age of 2 to 16. Every time I heard his name, the face of my own 4 year-old daughter came to my mind.

Madison... She had short black hair like me, and people often mistook her for a boy. She was short and thin for a kid her age, and had her mother's pearl blue eyes and smile. That smile... I would give up everything to see her smile again.

I often saw Roras on top of her... and I couldn't handle it. It made no sense! Adam Franti was very intolerable -he even showed his intolerance of Roras by verbally abusing him. So why the hell was he looking out for him?

Fireteam Night consisted of more devils than the entire Covenant Empire could even aspire to hold. Rapers, murderers, assassins; they were all here, and I had to work with them.

After Morgan had disappeared around a corner, I turned back to face Larson. "Thanks. For someone so anti-social, you have a way with convincing people."

"I doubt my words would make Captain Jsarez reconsider."

I let out a loud laugh, sending my head into another wave of pain. "That's actually _not_ what I was thinking." I had to give it to him, he was smart. Though, as good as the idea may had been, I doubted that anyone else could make the Captain reconsider -especially since she already planned on returning them all safely to _Earth_, so in their minds, there would be no reason to.

"Sorry." Larson apologized.

"It's fine, Con. Now, Doctor Day is likely already at my quarters, so we should hurry. Hmmm... perhaps we can save time if you just carry me."

It was a stupid joke that I didn't even try to make. Yet, Larson nodded before immediately approaching me.

He wasn't joking, he would _really _pick me up. I could be an idiot at times. "Shit, I was joking, Con; don't, seriously!" I put my hands in front of me to stop him.

He stopped, and no smile appeared to show that he _was _joking. "Jeeze," I shook my head. "You can't do that; you'll bloody kill yourself."

"I understand, sir. Though your physical capacity should allow me to carry you if required."

"Glad to know I've kept fit." I muttered.

"Your physic is fine. Though, I would like to recommend some diets that have helped me, and are recommended if you desire to live a long life." Larson pulled out his Data-pad where he began looking for the suppose diets.

I smiled. Clones were always so helpful.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** Not much to say here other than point out how embarrassed I am over CourtneyxWhite. Now, while some didn't mind it, I know I can do _a lot _better. Well... hopefully I can. I mean, surely you can Google how a relationship between two mentally scarred soldiers start? Yeah... I'm doomed. Well, I think it'll be a start if I try and _not _write in things that contradict previous facts. Hmm... It might be interesting to explore how Courtney tries to get past her rape -recovering is not an option. Though, I have absolutely no idea on how a progression like this works. Adding the rape and baby into Courtney's past was a good decision IMO, but I sure ain't making it easy on myself.  
**

**Well, as Vale Nar 'Sarasee would put it: "We all make mistakes. But your past mistakes matter little as long as you do all in your possible power to prevent those mistakes from happening again."**

**I hate Retconning, but I admit that it was needed here. Please tell me in a review if you agree or disagree, and as I said in the beginning A/N, tell me what you think of the changes. Also point out any typos or lore mistakes I may have made as I have made some in the past, and I'll no doubt make plenty in the future.**

******************************************************************************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, THE REVIEWING MASTER,**** gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7, goldmonk, ArmoredFury, Mumble8, ultimate idiot, SpeedyNaomi, Hunter092, ShootingKill, hi ace50, SomeRelic, Pure Onyx, flaze, Rogenberg, BLASINGDRAKON, The Constitutionalist, Reichenfaust.**


	31. Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Devil

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **

Okay, a few people have been voicing their confusion towards the timeline. As you may know, I often than not skip around in the timeline a lot from the events on Halo, back to the present. There's the location, date, and time at the beginning of each POV, but I know that it may be tricky for some people to understand what's happening, and some people may skip reading it altogether -which I understand.  
To make things easier, I'm gonna add something I like to call "The Timeline Function"

This will simply just put a small detailing above the time, date, and location telling the viewer which Timeline the segment is focusing on.

So when you see **Installation 06 Timeline** the segment will be based around the events on Halo in the year 2547, and when you see **Present Timeline **the segment will be based around the present timeline of 2555. I hope this makes people more aware of what's happening, and I'll be sure to exempt the whole flashback narrative for any future stories I do.

**[URGENT!]**

I've just discovered a MASSIVE plothole that a lot of you probably didn't notice.

According to what I've written, Courtney was raped on _Harvest_ at the age of 16. This is a problem since she (Along with Red and the other SPARTAN II children) were born in 2511. And the Covenant glassed Harvest in 2525. So, she would had to have actually been 13 if she was raped on _Harvest_. I'm not gonna change this; Courtney was raped at the age of 16. But I will do a lot of reconning. BUT, I don't know how many times I've mentioned the whole messed up timeline, so it would take forever for me to go back and correct it all (I actually just did go back and correct a lot, but there's still likely a few contradictions) So, I hope to God you guys are reading this so you can see the changes I've made.

First: Christina (Courtney's bitch teacher) never knew Red and never made suggestive incest comments because she's a crazy bitch. Christina was also a teacher at the school Courtney went to on _Arcadia _not _Harvest_. On top of that, Courtney and her family didn't get the final push to leave _Harvest_ after Christina was fired, and left _Harvest_ in 2522 when Red's clone died. Courtney was also raped on _Arcadia_, not _Harvest_. Christina still made bizarre suggestions that Courtney wasn't raped, and that she was actually a slut (Her words, not mine) Christina was still fired, though, and Courtney still hit her mum across the face twice out of anger for her mum not listening to her about Christina. Christina eventually left Arcadia where she moved to _Earth _to live out the rest of her life until she died of natural causes, and left her family that crazy note that I'm still trying to figure out how she wrote.

Here's the timeline.

**August 6th, 2511:** Red and Nai were both born on _Harvest_.

**Between August and September 23rd, 2517:** Red is kidnapped by ONI, and replaced with a flashclone. Courtney and Red are 6 at the time.

**2522:** Red's flash clone dies, and Courtney and her family leave _Harvest _for _Arcadia _shortly after. Courtney is 11 at the time.

**2523:** Courtney begins being harassed by Christina at her school on _Arcadia_. Courtney is 12 at the time.

**2527:** Courtney is raped by Eric at her house on _Arcadia_. She is 16 at the time. Not long after, she has an abortion. Eric is also arrested and shipped off planet.

**2528:** Christina is fired from her job as a principle at Courtney's school, and Courtney and her mother have a massive fallout (Explained more later on in the story) Courtney is 17 at the time. Christina then leaves _Harvest _not long later.

**2530:** Courtney enlists into the UNSC Navy. She is 19 at the time.

**2531:** The Covenant attacked _Arcadia_. Courtney is 20 at the time. Courtney and her family then arrive at _Earth _where Courtney met Lynda Keyes.

That should sum it up. I've corrected some of the stuff, but I'm not sure I got it all. Hopefully this helps. Though I must say, even if you guys didn't see this, I messed up real bad. Thankfully I'm still following the logic from my character which in turn is likely my own logic, but, meh; who cares?

**[ CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: THE DEVIL ]**

* * *

___I used to ask myself: "How do I move on from this?"_

___I wouldn't accept counselling out of my own stupid desire for revenge, and I wouldn't talk to my parents or friends about it. So I was stuck with it myself for all those years._

___The first step from moving on was to stop my constant aggression. _

___I used to scream at my parents uncontrollably. I couldn't help it; it just happened. They would ask me the most mundane of tasks which I would refuse out of a rebellious attitude that came out of being raped, and they began telling me that I didn't have a choice, and I began screaming and swearing at them. _

___They would scream and swear back at me. _

___I didn't like what was happening, so I researched why I was constantly angry, and found that it was normal after what I went through. But didn't my parents know that? I was raped; I had the right to be angry all the time even if I wasn't angry because my mental state forced me too._

___For a long time I hated my parents for not understanding. But perhaps they did understand, and they too couldn't cope with what happened._

___Eventually, I managed to regain my composure, and started calming down. But this didn't fully succeed until step two happened._

___The next step was to start leaving my room._

___After what happened, I had never left my room except to go to the bathroom, and to get my food, and go to school -I didn't go to school for almost a month after what happened, and Christina didn't help. I never left the house, and never talked to my friends -at home or at school. My parents didn't bother to change this which supported my theory that they did understand what I was going through, but just couldn't cope._

___I started off by leaving my room more often, eating dinner at the table with my family, and watching TV in the living room. Shortly after, I stopped retreating to my room when someone came over, and I began talking with my parents friends who commonly came over._

___After that, I started inviting my friends over who helped me control my sudden mood swings._

___Sadly, it still took me years before I could even stay at home by myself, walk around school by myself, and walk around the city I lived in by myself. But when I did, I took firearm lessons and kept a Personal Defense Weapon on me at all times._

___I owed it to that Japanese family that also supported me and helped me._

___The third step was to talk about what happened. Thankfully, Lynda was around when this step came into the picture. _

___Lynda helped me a lot; suggesting counselors and rehab. But I refused it all as I couldn't speak about what happened to anyone who I didn't trust, and Lynda was the only person I trusted._

___With Lynda's help, I began to think I could trust a male again, and actually have a close relationship with one. But I would never let a male touch me again._

___The fourth step was to enjoy pleasure again._

___Prior to Eric's rape of me, I masturbated a lot. Afterward_

___s, I couldn't bring myself to touch myself down there. I owed it to Lynda here who also helped me, and I finally accepted a form of sex therapy from a female sex therapist that she recommended._

___I could never recover from what happened, but I could sure as hell try._

___I used to ask myself: ____"How do I move on from this?" I now had my answer: One step at a time._

* * *

**Installation 06 Timeline.**

**[DATE]-[****November**** 9, 2547 ****[1014 Hours] Human Military Calendar]**

**[LOCATION]-[****UNSC**** _Kryptonite_, On-Route to Recovery Room A-8, Installation 06]****  
**

**[POV]-****[Courtney Jsarez****]**

* * *

I felt like screaming in frustration.

The Monarch could be anywhere on the _Kryptonite_, and the only way to find him was via Timmy. But Timmy had it in his head that I was planning on using the Monarch to take over the systems from him.

I knew I would come to regret screaming at him earlier.

I hurried down the corridor, slamming my feet onto the grated ground as I almost ran, Lynda was right behind me, trying to keep up.

From what I heard, the Inspectoris Omnium thingy -that was connected to the Gravemind who was in turn connected to Red- allowed the Gravemind to access every bit of information in the Universe, and even read the minds of anyone, anywhere. So, the way I saw it, if Timmy wasn't going to help me, Red would.

I felt ashamed The reason I was about to see my _true _brother for the first time in 30 years was not to rekindle with him. Wait, no, I would rekindle with him first before I ask him questions -I deserved that much, right? What could go wrong with the more pressing matters waiting at least half an hour?_  
_

A few more minutes and we arrived at the recovery room Red was resting in. After typing in the rooms' pass-code onto the control-pad, the door opened up to show Red tied down in a cot, looking up to the ceiling with several fully armed Marines hand-picked by Lynda surrounding him. Standing by his cot was Doctor Hallas Day, datapad in his hands.

I wasn't surprised to see Day questioning Red when I walked in, but I was angry. Day may had been a nice person, but he was an ONI scientist, so he no doubt knew about the SPARTAN-II Program, and for that he would suffer.

Looking up from his datapad, a smile appeared on Day's face. "Captain, finally come to see him?" I cocked his head towards the door. "Did you want me to leave?"

I let the anger appear on my face with Day narrowing his eyes in confusion. "Yes, get out!" I snapped as I pointed my hand at the door. "And if you go near my brother again, I'll have your brains blown across the damn floor."

A satisfying amount of fear shone in Day's eyes as he hurried out of the room.

"Lynda, take your boys and leave us." I ordered Lynda, waving my hand to dismiss her.

"Okay, ma'am, but both the alien orbs warned that he can act unpredictably."

I turned away from facing Red -who hadn't turned his head to face me- to face Lynda. "The Gravemind won't harm me, 'cause if I'm killed, both he and Red will be executed immediately."

Lynda nodded in acknowledgement before waving for the Marines to follow her out. I waited for all of them to leave before turning to face Red who was still acting as if I was not there.

I wanted to run up and hug him, but I couldn't; I couldn't risk him lashing out if the Gravemind had control over him. Although, according to both the Monarch and Fleighted Fire, the Gravemind could only take control of Red for a few minutes once a day -exceptions could happen, but were rare. If there wasn't an exception, Red shouldn't had been in control and wouldn't be anytime soon as the Gravemind took control of him late last night.

"Red..." I finally muttered. That wasn't the word that I wanted to leave my mouth, though. I wanted to show more composure, to make him be the first one to open up. Red was always first, it was a rule between us.

Red still didn't turn to face me. This was growing stressful; were they wrong? Is this still not Red? "_Look at me_." I said more coldly than I should, and with too much hidden emotion. It was only then that I noticed my hands hurt from my fingers twitching so uncontrollably, and that the pain was spreading up into my arms.

Finally, he turned to face me. His green eyes were red, and his veins were visible due to their blackness; a bandage covered his head from the surgery. "You _are _mad at me." _  
_

Realization came to me. He wasn't refusing to face me out of him not being Red, or being under the Gravemind's control, but because he was ashamed; he was guilty over the years he wasn't there for me when I needed him. When I was in my 'state of pain' I hated Red. I hated him for putting me through the pain I was in. But this wasn't me, it was a side of me that wasn't _really _me, and that side was now gone. But even when I falsely hated Red, and wished him dead during those horrific hours, _never did I hate him for not being there when I needed him_.

Tears swelled up into my eyes, and I knelt to the ground as my strength left me. "No, no, Red, I don't _hate _you, and I'm sorry for sounding like I did; I really am."

"You should," Red told me, his voice croaky as if he was about to burst out crying. "It's stupid of you not to hate me after... after everything you went through. Christina, Eric, I promised I'd always protect you, and I-... I-..." Red's voice broke. "_I-... I couldn't ke-... keep that promise... I-... I COULDN'T PROTECT YOU!_"_  
_

I used every ounce of my strength to rise from my knees. It seemed like the hardest thing I had ever done, but I was kidding myself to think that. Once I had risen, my strength returned to me, and I sprinted over to Red's cot, swinging my arms around his tied down body before burying my face into his chest.

"Don't _ever _blame yourself for what happened... _ever_!" I cried. It was weak of him to blame himself for what happened, but I quickly reminded myself that he had the emotional mental state of a child.

"I've missed you _so _much!" I continued to cry, feeling Red's hands caress my back.

"I-... didn't miss you," He replied in his teary voice, and I was about to jump off of him when he held me down and continued. "I-... wasn't there to miss yo... you, Nai... I wasn't there to _protect_ you... and... and I wasn't... I wasn't there to even _wish _that I could protect you."

"You're here now." I reminded him, trying to compose myself but failing hugely. I soon came to stop trying to compose myself, and just let it all run out. It was ironic as not a month ago I began thinking about giving up searching for him, and just move on with my life. But now, I was here, with my brother. And I felt as if we were one again.

Red began crying uncontrollably, and as he started screaming along with me, I noticed my hands stopped twitching. We were one again._  
_

I didn't know how long we hugged each other, crying. But it was so emotionally draining for me, that I drifted off to sleep. I normally would've been annoyed at myself for this, but I slept better than I ever have for three decades now that I was with my brother. At least, I _did _sleep better. But something happened...

* * *

_What was this place? _

_There was nothing but white. The ground was white, the sky was white, the distance was white._

_I looked down to see that I wasn't white. Though, I was naked. Something surprised me; my already neatly shaven pubic hair was gone. Confused, I placed my hand onto my head and noticed that my hair was gone as well._

_"What?..." I turned to see Red next to me, naked as well. Again, he was missing what little hair he had on his head._

_"Where are we?" I asked him._

_Red turned his gaze to look at the white distance. "I don't know."_

_I followed his gaze to see that he wasn't just looking at the distance. "Better yet, what's that?"_

_The distant figure began to get closer and closer faster than it should since it appeared to be walking._

_"Red?..." _

_"I don't know what it is. I don't know what any of this is."_

_Instead of waiting, I began to approach the figure that was approaching us. Red didn't try to stop me, and instead followed behind me closely._

_Soon,the figure began to fade in. What I saw horrified me._

_It was a hybrid of both me and Red. The figure wore a face which was a mix between Red and my face with breasts that had the same body marks as me with the same small mole I had under my left nipple._

_It had Red's muscles, and along with the male like body and my breasts, it looked horrific. But what disturbed me the most was its gentile area._

_It had a vagina -my vagina- and protruding from its vagina was Red's penis._

_I finally let out small cry of shock when I finally saw it fully. Its mouth and green eyes were the only thing that didn't resemble us. Its eyes were sharp and evil-looking, and its mouth was wide and demonic with teeth protruding over its lips._

_The demonic figure charged at me. Red managed to leap into the way, grabbing the figure and pulling it away from me._

_I made to flank the figure when I heard Red scream out in pain before the figure send him flying towards me, blood covering him. He smashed into me, sending me flying back onto the hard, white ground._

_I tried to move out from under Red's weight, but saw the figure with something in its hand -Red's penis._

_The figure grinned before eating Red's penis._

_"WHAT THE FUCK!" I screamed. Nothing made sense; why was I seeing this?! What was the point?! Was this some type of weird wet-dream fetish I was having of my brother?! Why was what I seeing so provocative; so disgusting?! Was _

_I began to tear up as the figure slowly began to approach us. But Red suddenly burst up from lying on me, and sprinted towards the figure._

_"I didn't need that anyway!" He roared as he slammed his fist into the figure._

_The figure didn't flinch, and instead grabbed the arm that Red hit it with, and ripped it from Red's shoulder._

_Red's bloodcurdling scream filled my ears as the figure kicked him back before running towards me._

_"This is not veracious." I heard an unfamiliar, strong voice say from nowhere as everything around me halted to a standstill._

_"What does this appalling panorama epitomize?"_

_I screamed as loud as I could at the sight of the figure mere inches from attacking me, from Red lying on the ground with blood covering him._

_"It is required to cease."_

* * *

Screaming, I flung myself up from leaning over Red's chest to look around the room, tears in my eyes.

Only seconds later, Red woke up screaming as well. I was about to hug him out of an overbearing fear that had taken control of me when Lynda's arms wrapped around me and pulled me back into her embrace.

"I thought you were dead." She cried, her tears dripping onto my uniform.

"Dead?" I asked.

Timmy's voice came over the room's intercom. "Both you and Sierra-098's vitals flat-lined for unknown reasons while you were asleep. You were dead instantly according to the machinery hooked up to Sierra-098, your neural implants, and my own personal assessment system."

"I feel dead." Red remarked.

"I don't blame you," I agreed, gently pulling away from Lynda who was trying to hide her emotions in front of all the doctors and few Marines. Once I was free from her tight embrace, I got up and took a seat on a stool next to Red's cot. "That's if you actually went through what I saw you went through."

"Dick and armed ripped off -yep." He confirmed.

"Shit," I cursed, rubbing my head. "What the hell happened?"

Red let out a pained sigh as a doctor began examining him. "Don't know, Nai, but whatever happened to me _there _is inflicting pain on me _here_. I still feel like I lost two very important assets of mine, and I'm in _intense_ pain," Red looked up to the doc that was examining him. "Speaking of which: Doc, can I have some morphine?"

"I'll get you something." The doc replied.

Something didn't add up to Red's detailed explanation; where was the pain on my side? "Red, I don't feel anything."

"Don't sound so _glum _about it," Red joked. "It's odd, but I wouldn't complain. Huh, the Gravemind seems just as baffled about it as we are."

I raised my eyes. "I half expected it to have somehow found a way to fuck up both our minds, and was the one who caused this."

Red let out a little emotionless chuckle. "It was the one who stopped it from continuing; too gross for it, apparently."

"If it stopped it for you, how did he stop it for me?" I questioned Red. Suddenly, the horrific and terrifying thought came to my mind. "Wait, it can access any and every info source in the Universe at any time, from anywhere, so can it also _manipulate _the systems it can hack into? Like, take control of ships and that?"

An expression appeared on Red's face that said 'don't worry'. "No, no; of course the Precursors ain't _that _stupid. They knew of the chances of the Inspectoris Omnium falling into the Flood's _tentacles_, and decided not to make _that_ big a risk," Red began leaning back as the doc began checking his head and injecting morphine into his arm via syringe. "But I'm just as confused as to how it seems to be able to-" Red put his hand up as if saying 'wait'. "Wait... Okay, apparently it can access your mind via the psychological energy link between us."

I raised my eyes in shock. "So it can now _take control _of me and make me sprout garbage?"

"No, don't worry, Nai, it can't go that in-depth with its manipulation of your mind since its not _actually _connected up to your brain. But it can prevent you from saying things it doesn't want you to say," Red appeared as if he was musing. " Hm, Looks like it just found out about the link, and hasn't got any plans on exploiting it -yet."

A doc offered to check me over, but I 'no thank you' gesture as I didn't need a check over because Timmy would just check my vitals and stats anyway. "Can the Gravemind shed some light on what happened?"

A doc began shining a light into Red's eyes. "Not yet. But it plans on looking into it as it's intrigued as much as it's disgusted."

"It's disgusted by that?" I scoffed. "Doesn't it want to absorbed all life into a single, gruesome mass where every living thing will either be eaten or live the rest of eternity in a tortured state?"

"Meh," Red shrugged with the doctor placing a hand on his shoulder to make him stay still. "The Flood have morals too."

Lynda let out a long laugh from behind me and I couldn't help by smirk as well. I could believe that fucking animals had morals, but not the Flood.

Red shrugged again with the doctor again making him stay still. "Whether they _really _do or not doesn't really matter at the moment. what does matter is that they -or the Gravemind- are smart enough to know what's good for them. And the Gravemind knows that me dying isn't good for its _'plans_', and that I'll likely die if I don't tell you what you came to ask me. Yes, Dorhan is planning something big."

Lynda slammed her hand down onto a bench as I jumped off of my stool and clenched my hands around one of the bars of Red's cot. "What's he planning?"

"Dorhan's worried that you going straight to FLEETCOM rather than the designated ONI facility on _Earth _will break mission parameters, and that he'll be arrested for not making sure you stick to the mission parameters. He's also scared that the charges will rack up against him if he allows you to breach security protocol by telling FLEETCOM about classified Intel-"

"Yes, yes." I urged, gesturing for him to get to the point.

"He's planning a mutiny. To detain you, those who are likely to kick his ass over it, and anyone who resists to the brig until we get back to _Earth_. He initially planned on killing the crew that supported the idea of exposing ONI's crimes, but that was just a misconception he had about ONI, and changed his mind after he realized how fucking stupid he was."

"How _slightly _fucking stupid he _is_." I jokingly corrected Red.

"Right. Anyway, he hasn't got a lot of manpower to assist him, but he has Timmy -who's the key- and hopes to have Fleighted Fire and the Monarch help him out as well since he _is _actually following Human protocol."

The likely hood of the Monarch and Fleighted Fire helping Dorhan was dangerously high. "A bad protocol," I sighed as I sat back onto my stool, shaking my head in annoyance. "So, Timmy, you _are _ONI."

"I'm not permitted to speak to you about this topic." Timmy informed us over the room's intercoms.

"That confirmed it." I sighed in annoyance at the AI's unintentional stupidity.

"Who else is supporting him?" Lynda urged Red.

"Doctor Hallas Day, Doctor Campbell Joyce, Alex Giles-"

"Giles," I scoffed. "Finally, a reason to throw that shit into the brig." I had always disliked Giles over his constant aggression, but after he called Red a machine, things became personal.

"Yeah. They also have some Marine and ODST Fireteams. Fireteam Night-"

"Night?" Lynda let out an emotionless chuckle of disbelief. "Nuh, no, Morgan and Cylus get along too well with most of the crew to risk getting into a firefight with them."

"They didn't have a choice." Red stated.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because they're ONI employed convicts."

Both me and Lynda exclaimed: "_WHAT?!_" at the same time as each other.

"Yeah. All five of them were friends in the prison they were in, and looked out for each other. During a prison break, they used their teamwork to kill a bunch of inmates in defense that they had previous grievances with, and decided to attack them during the chaos. Unfortunately, the press wasn't too happy about the break as over a dozen guards were killed, and they called for all those involved to be executed. All five of them were involved even though they made no move to _actually _escape the prison, and were sentenced to death."

Red took a breath as he continued. The docs has finished checking him up, and were now listening keenly. "ONI liked the reports of the five's teamwork, and managed to jump in before they were executed. The deal was that the five convicts would serve as ONI's lapdogs for a decade, and in return, they would each receive new IDs to start a new life."

"Fuck," Lynda cursed. "I actually grew to like some of those guys."

"Not all of them are bad," Red reassured us. "Franti was a ODST prior to his conviction, but killed an ODST Squad after they insulted his family that had recently died on _Arcadia_. Cylus also ain't bad as he only assassinated a corrupted Governor who was planning on selling his planet out to the Insurrectionists. ONI was planning on assassinating the Governor anyway, but just got lucky when they found a scapegoat to please the angry press who couldn't know that their beloved politics were not so _lovable_."

"Maybe we could use that to make him reconsider..." Lynda suggested.

"We mightn't need to," Red replied. "He only reluctantly agreed to go along with Dorhan's plans out of fear of what Franti would do to him if he was the '_odd one out_', he has since done all he could to try to point out flaws in Dorhan's plans, and I bet it wouldn't be long before he decided '_fuck_ it'and completely refused to comply."

"What about the others? Can we convince the others?" I asked him, trying not to let the stress of the situation seep into my voice.

"Both Franti and Douglas are no goes as Franti couldn't care less about the _Kryptonite _and her crew, and only plans to continue fighting in the UNSC until he dies; I personally don't think he'll survive long enough to die in battle as he's suffering from an ever increasing depression case, and I can see him committing suicide pretty soon. Douglas is similar as in he doesn't care what happens to the crew, and will only do what Franti decides."

"What did he do?" I questioned Red.

"Who?" Red asked.

"Douglas. What did he do?"

Red let out a sigh. "He murdered _a lot _of people, Nai. It's actually an interesting story that I'll tell you about later."

"What about Morgan and that idiot Roras?" Lynda asked him. "Can they be convinced to reconsider?"

"Not Roras as he too doesn't care about the crew, and only wants his ID so he can go back to molesting girls-"

"What?!" I asked, anger in my voice.

"Sorry. He was convicted for molesting over two hundred girls, and plans to go back to the hobby once he's released from ONI's grasp -ONI's aware of this, but don't plan on pointing fingers at him when reports start coming in of girls going missing on the planet he's on."

"Jesus." Lynda sighed.

"And Franti's friends with him?" I scoffed.

"Not out of choice." Red stated.

"Really?" I urged.

"Yeah, Roras's brother, Sectrin Roras, was actually a member of Franti's little group in the prison, but was murdered by an inmate that had a thing against him. He bled out in Franti's arms before medics could help him, but begged Franti to protect his little brother who has so far only been protected by Sectrin. Franti agreed, and now has to put up with Roras's behavior out of a commitment to his dead friend."

"Jeeze, feel sorry for the poor guy." Lynda remarked.

"And Morgan?" I urged, changing the topic back on course.

"I don't know," Red replied. "As much as he doesn't like the idea of betraying his friends, he _really _wants that new ID."

"Why?" Lynda asked.

"He kidnapped, raped, killed, and cannibalized 20 young models and actresses."

"_Oh for fuck's sake!_" Lynda growled. "Who let these guys onto this ship?!"

"He actually _hates_ himself over what happens, and only wants a new ID so he can start a new life where he can try to help people and change the worlds in a better place -his long term goal is to be remembered as someone who did good in his lifetime." Red explained.

I scoffed. "I call bullshit on that. One does not wake up one day and realize that they're a fucking monster, and that they fucked up."

Red shook his head. "The Gravemind says that it's true, and I don't see a reason for him to lie."

"Fine, I won't kill him." Lynda grumbled.

"Thank you." Red smiled, and I suddenly remembered that he could know what we were thinking if the Gravemind told him.

"Okay," I got up and began pacing. "So there's Fireteam Night; who else?"

"There's also Gunnery Sergeant David Larson who _is in fact _an ONI agent -confirming your thoughts," I felt uncomfortable with the Gravemind peeking around in my mind, but it couldn't be helped -at the moment. I nodded in acknowledgement, and was about to reply when Red added: "But not an ONI agent by choice, Nai, so don't hate him?"

"What do you mean by that?" Lynda questioned Red.

Red let out a sigh. "He's a clone."

I narrowed my eyes as Lynda exclaimed: "_What?! Really?! What the fuck?!_"

"A... _'clone'_?" I double-checked.

"Yeah. Like me and the other SPARTANs, he was trained from a young age in the art of combat, so he is _extremely _dangerous, guys; a match for me in skill and physic."

"Can he be taken out if he needed?" Lynda asked, sounding nervous.

Red nodded. "Yes. Though, it won't be that simple; an easy task not. If he needs to be taken down, I think only I could succeed in it. But he has certain physical and mental impairments due to his cloning, and he hasn't got augments, so that might give me an advantage as well as an advantage to others that mightn't have a choice but to engage him in combat."

I began pacing. "_Why the hell_... is ONI so interested in breaking the laws it so _desperately _acts on to uphold?"_  
_

"Huh?" Lynda asked me, seemingly confused to what I meant.

"The Mortal Dictata. It goes on about how a Human is a Human no matter what, and that no single Human belongs to any individual, and a Humans must _never _be cloned."

Red let out a scoff. "Apparently Parangosky hates Halsey because she cloned us without her permission, and disagrees with cloning."

"But?..." I urged, knowing there was more to it.

"She _personally _sanctioned the experiment that created Larson," I let out a sigh as Red continued. "It- it's another long story that I'll tell you later. Right now, we have more pressing matters."

"Agreed," I nodded. "Who else is working alongside Dorhan?"

"Fireteam Hazard and Location -mostly assholes who want credits. And added to that list in the two hours we were asleep is twenty-six Marines and two ODSTs that don't want to be locked away by ONI for resisting him-"

I spun around at the sounds of the room's door closing. Lynda instantly rushed to the door but got there too late; the door was shut, and its control pad went red as it entered a lock-down.

Timmy.

I hurried over to Lynda who was slamming her shoulder into the door with the help of a Marine. "Damn it, Timmy, open up!" I yelled.

"Negative, ma'am. Lieutenant Dorhan has been alerted, and is on-route with Fireteam Location and Hazard to remove you, Sierra-098, and Lieutenant Colonel Keyes to the brig."

I let out a growl as I slammed my leg into the door. "You're dead, you stupid piece of code; you hear me? _You're dead_!"

"Your violence won't help in the case that is being filed by me against you to the HIGHCOM Security Council." Timmy warned me.

"Add a 'fuck you, from Jsarez' to the report." I growled as both me, Lynda, and two Marines slammed into the door at the same time.

"Your sense of humor will not be enacted on." Timmy informed me.

"_Whatever_!" I growled, backing away from the door while waving my arms at my side to get the pain of slamming them into the door out.

Lynda put her hand up to her ear-piece. "Hang on, ma'am, trying to contact White... nothing; Timmy's blocked the COMs."

"Dammit." I muttered under my breath, taking a seat on one of the couches in the recovery room that was opposite from a screen on the wall. You'd swear they build a lounge in this room as well as an _actual _recovery room. Must be an ONI luxury thing they decided to add along with one of their many modifications they did to the _Kryptonite _over the years.

"So, we just wait?" One of the docs asked.

"Yep," Lynda answered, pulling out her M6C. "And as soon as that door opens, heads are gonna roll."

"I highly discourage this, Lieutenant Colonel." Timmy warned her.

"Well, I highly discourage _this_," She gestured to the door. "but you won't take that into consideration, so I won't take your warning into consideration."

"Lynda's right," I told Timmy. "Open up, and violence won't pursue. But we're still finishing this mission my way."

"A breakage of protocol is unacceptable," Timmy replied. "You'll be detained until we arrive back to _Earth_. I apologize for this, Captain, as I came to enjoy the company of you and your crew, and I looked forward to you attempts to strengthen your relationship with me."_  
_

I narrowed my eyes. "You know about that?"

"I picked up on it." Timmy replied. This just made things worse for my subconscious as I'd started to feel guilty for what I said to the AI, and what I planned on doing to him

"Could someone let me out of these God awful restrains?" Red suddenly asked. "I _really _need to stretch."

Smiling, I got up and walked over to Red's cot. "I thought my muscles felt funny." I remarked, undoing Red's arm restraints before working on the rest. I worried that he might of stricken out, but he remained composed, and got up where he proceeded to stretch his arms and neck.

"Lynda..." Red turned to face Lynda as he stretched his arms.

"...Yeah?" She asked.

"The Gravemind wants to say that although he admires you taking it by surprise, acting against its interests again will result in your death not being quick and painless when it comes."

A grin appeared across Lynda's face. "Too bad its _plans _for everyone dying ain't gonna play out."

The Gravemind didn't make Red press it, and Red instead took a seat on the couch to the right of the door, the one I was seated on recently that was opposite a screen on the wall that served as a TV screen for patients in recovery and guests. Again, the thought of ONI's luxury items they added came to my head, and how I enjoyed those items. That terminal in my room... it had everything I needed. It didn't exactly help my hatred for ONI that I enjoyed using the nice little bits and pieces they added to the ship.

ONI began adding their own modifications to the _Kryptonite _about five months ago after they received jurisdiction over us from FLEETCOM, and although we still answered to FLEETCOM, the _Kryptonite _now participated in a lot of missions issued by ONI. The mods were just there to reinforce that the _Kryptonite was _ONI property.

Lynda began coordinating the Marines to what was going to happen when Dorhan arrived. They were to barricade the entrance, and engage if necessary while remaining behind the cover of a few portable tables that were being moved around. The docs would hold up at back out-of-the-way while both me and Red stay back and cover them with our sidearms. Red himself didn't have his own PDW, but a Marine gave him one of his -a M6D which made Red happy.

With nothing to do but wait, I took a seat next to Red on the couch. There was an awkward silence until Red finally spoke up. "I know the pain you went through all those years, but 098 kept them sealed up inside him -where I was. So while 098 was functioning like a machine in any situation, I was experiencing the pain that happened to you all those years-"

I moved closer to Red where I laid my head on his shoulder. "You can't change the past, Red. And desiring to do so will only ruin the present. Just know that it ain't your fault what happened, and that I've healed _a lot _over the years."

Red turned to look at me as I sat back up. "How'd you recover from it?"

I turned to look at him. How did I recover? I didn't. "I didn't recover, Red. I only moved forward. But what Eric did to me haunts me every night before I go to bed. I can always feel his tongue on me, in me; always. And it never, _ever _goes away," Red nodded his head slightly as I continued. "But I wouldn't let someone like him ruin my life, so I moved on."

"I noticed that all the stress and mental pain that came over you slowly began to disperse over the years until it was barely there. But there was still each night... I felt you in some type of distress each night. And the actual time it happened... I was thankfully not on a mission, because I felt... broken, and I could feel sensations of licking all over my body. I also felt mentally and physically sick, and remember vomiting which concerned of my follow SPARTANs."

An idea came to my head. "Perhaps the reason I was able to move on was because my mental pain was shared with you. I didn't let it consume me because it was split in half with you."

"Yeah," I saw Red grin out of the corner of my eye. "you owe me one."

I playfully tapped his shoulder. "Hey! How 'bout all the times you got lazy, and allowed a Covenant to-"

Red interrupted me by putting his finger up to hush me before he proceeded to sniff the air. I smelt it too... a burning smell.

"Ionized plasma," Red reported. "There's also burning and sparks. It's coming from behind us." We both hopped up at the same time and approached the back wall of the room with Lynda and a few Marines regrouping on us to see what was happening.

"I know that smell..." Lynda mused. "Not a smell I like..."

Two glowing blades suddenly appeared through the wall -the tips of an energy sword. The sword began cutting out a large rectangle in the wall before the cut out section of the wall fell back to reveal 'Lodam and White standing there.

My jaw dropped. Was this really happening?

"It occurred to me that the potential for me to slay the Demon in the time to come was at risk. I was not going to allow that risk to continue its existence." 'Lodam explained. I translated it as: 'I don't like the idea of Red getting executed by ONI instead of me personally killing him'. I had never been so grateful for someone wanting to kill one of my family members; I didn't think it was something someone _could_ _be _grateful for.

"How- how did you know?" Lynda questioned them.

It was White who answered. "The Monarch told us, thought it had the right to warn us that shit was 'bout to go down. Though it told us to stay secure while it discussed what was gonna happen with Timmy and Dorhan, we decided to go ahead and help you. The Monarch isn't too happy 'bout that."

"So, is the Monarch gonna help us?" I asked White.

'Lodam butted in before White could reply. "You Humans speak too much in such a time of distress -this concludes why you are losing the war to us."

I glared at 'Lodam, showing my pissed off expression. He didn't seem to mind, and I swear that the clicking of his hidden mandibles that he was doing was of amusement.

"Fine then," Lynda growled. "What're standing around for?"

Anve 'Lodamee suddenly charged out of nowhere and slammed into Red, pinning him against the wall where he forced Red's head to the side and began speaking into Red's ear. "WHERE'S MY BLADE, PARASITE?!"

Both me and Lynda and the Marines closed on Anve raising our guns at him.

"At ease, Humans," 'Lodam told us. "This violence is directed not at the Demon."

"Then tell your buddy to _back off_." Lynda warned 'Lodam, placing her Magnum onto Anve's temple.

Anve didn't notice Lynda and instead waited for Red's answer -which he didn't have to wait long for. "The Gravemind distributed all usable equipment I had when I was captured to the Combat Forms. The Combat Form with your energy sword is located within the Quarantine Zone, and the Gravemind doesn't plan on moving the Combat Form out of the Quarantine Zone."

Anve released Red before backing off, kicking the wall with his armored hoof as he let out a long growl of irritation. We all lowered our weapons once we realized that no violence was gonna happen.

"Quick your bitching," Lynda scolded the Elite before turning to face the docs and Marines. "'kay, boys and gals, get your asses in that 'tunnel' and keep on Captain White's lead."

Since the 'tunnel' was bought up, I turned to see where exactly White, Anve and 'Lodam came from. Upon a quick assessment, I saw that 'Lodam had cut through multiple walls and that the tunnel went through multiple corridors. I guessed they cut a path from the officer's lounge all the way over here, so there was a nice big hole through the _Kryptonite's _interior now.

"Great." I muttered in annoyance as I walked over to White who was directing all the docs and Marines into the entrance of the makeshift tunnel.

"Cap," He nodded at me.

"You keep saving my ass, and I'm gonna run out of sushi." I joked.

White waved a Marine off before turning to face me. "Don't worry, we can always delay dinner 'till we get back to _Earth_."

Lynda came from behind me and grabbed White by his ear. "Stop chatting her up," Lynda scolded White as he said 'ow' several times. "and get us out of here!"

I had to hold in a laugh as I turned and began to follow the Elites and others as they made their way down the makeshift tunnel.

Little did I know that the whole ordeal was nowhere near from over.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** You could argue that the likely hood of an energy sword being able to cut through the walls of a Human ship is low, but remember that level on Halo 2 where the Arbiter has to cut those cables on that Forerunner mining facility? If an energy blade can cut through Forerunner metals, I believe it could cut through Human metals. Plus, those walls that Thel cut through aren't _that_ thick -I think. But lore covering the intensity of the inside walls of Human ships is limited to nil, so I decided to make things up myself.**

**The Constitutionalist bought up something I would like to address. So far, I have haven't really credited OCs, and who their creators/people based off are. Thought I might begin to add a little 'credits' thingy in the ending A/N as well as the thank you to all my followers thingy. It'll take up a little room, but nobody has to read it.**

**Right, now just gotta check things over.. done. **

**Lynda Keyes - LyndaKey1**

**Timmy - The Timmynator (Hey, give us an update, are you still reading?)**

**Toless Morgan (Night's Angel) - NightsAnger**

**16807 Fleighted Fire - Fleightedfire**

**The Hybrids - Species Unknown**

**Tom McAllister (Wolf) - Curiouswolf**

**Wade Tulnai - gumskull4**

**Qrs 'Jaragsai - Qrs-jg**

**Skae 'Kuzomee - ArmoredFury**

**Albert Freud - Starart123**

**Rick Cylus (Night's Wing) - Nightwing141**

**David Larson - The Constitutionalist**

**Doctor Hallas Day - gruntbdayparty37**

**Adam Franti - Adam95F**

**Brian Davis - briandang131**

**Please tell me if I missed anyone, and as per usual, please review and point out any typos or lore mistakes.**

**********************************************************************************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, THE REVIEWING MASTER,**** gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7, goldmonk, ArmoredFury, Mumble8, ultimate idiot, SpeedyNaomi, Hunter092, ShootingKill, hi ace50, SomeRelic, Pure Onyx, flaze, Rogenberg, BLASINGDRAKON, The Constitutionalist, Reichenfaust, ItzNikkiBlack.**


	32. Chapter Thirty: Recalcitrance: Part One

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

In chapter 14, White made a sexual joke towards his relationship with Courtney in front of a large amount of the surviving crew of the _Kryptonite_. For those of you who have forgotten how it played out:

"I wanted to speak to Red." West explained.

_I know what this is about _"What about, sir." Red asked as he took a seat on his bunk.

"You already know; but just to indulge the rest of you, I will gladly say that Enterarj interrupted my lunch break; stating that he bumped into Sierra-098 in the hall, and the _'old psycho man'_ had said that he wished he ate his dead sister."

Gamble burst out laughing.

"It's not a nice feeling." White stated.

Red turned to face White "I'm sorry about that, sir."

White curiously eyed West _He doesn't fully know what I have told him yet _"It's fine," White reassured Red before he began smiling "After all... I'm eating _your_ sister."

At the time it just came to my head, and I didn't decide that Courtney was raped yet, so this seems _really _outta place for White since I figured that their relationship when it begins (-_-) will revolve around the privacy and trust they have. So, White saying this contradicts my plans for the future.

I'm not gonna remove this as I've figured out a way to solve this. I could have waited until the actual chapter arrived for this to be explained, but it's an issue that I really needed to bring up now as I think some people out there are wondering what the hell is going on with it, and that it doesn't make sense.

Now, here's my plans to solve this: As you may know, Courtney and Lynda have a close relationship, and perhaps _when _her relationship with White begins, she, Lynda, and White begin eating dinner together _a lot _more, and perhaps Courtney jokes around about some of their private stuff due to her comfort around Lynda as a sister like figure. White misinterpret this, and thinks Courtney's okay with joking about their sexual relationship openly to anyone, and that's why he made that joke in front of everyone.

To sum it up, I plan to have a Courtney POV in the present timeline soon to explain some of this, and I plan to have her and White in the present have a bit of a falling out about the whole thing.

I also plan on having a Red POV during the same chapter to explain a bit more about ONI's almost silly plan to try to incapacitate Red by shooting him in the head. This is kinda a silly plan, but I am gonna go into a bit more detail as to why ONI is planning on taking this action over some more safer actions.

With both a Red and Courtney POV, it's likely the chapter will be entirely in the present timeline. But I'm not gonna leave you guys on a cliff-hanger, so I'll wait until the mutiny is over before doing the next present timeline chapter.

Also, I noticed that I didn't credit everyone's OC in the previous chapter as I just went through the reviews and I got about it, and forgot that I had followers who haven't contacted me made into an OC. I've since corrected this. But I may have still left a few people out, so please tell me if I did.

* * *

**[ CHAPTER THIRTY: RECALCITRANCE: PART ONE ]**

* * *

_I'm not quite sure when I began to fade away, only that I just did._

_A personality of my own creation took control of me, and forcefully buried me deep within myself. A personality of composure, obedience, and nativity._

_Over the years this fake personality inhabited me, all the mental pain and stress that was inflicted on it was instead sent to me. While it remained stoic, I never spent a moment of rest in forcing myself back out, and never received a moments' respite for Nai's pain._

_Everything that Nai went through I felt -not 098. I was a relief for it while it remained focused; I was a distraction for all the anguish sent from Nai to it. Never did 098 experience the stress Nai went through; only the pain of injuries she obtained as pain was not something 098 could keep solely directed onto me._

_But after thirty years, I was finally able to surface, and break through the wall 098 set to keep me trapped. I managed to recover my body and mind, and I was me again._

_But I now know what 098 felt like to have me constantly irritate it, and fight against it, as I am not alone._

_The spore of the Gravemind swarms my head; preventing me from speaking about all the things I wanted to speak about, all the information I wanted to tell Nai only to let me say what it sanctions._

_I'm subjected to its constant brutality and sadistic nature; its complex speech patterns, and its devastating plans for the future._

_All life will be absorbed into the Flood; the Precursor's final act: To make their creations never defy them again. The Flood were the Precursors, and they were both impossible to comprehend by mere Humans._

_What was comprehensible was the fact that Humanity were the Reclaimers; chosen by the Precursors, and chosen by the Forerunners. A long and horrible history led to the Precursor's downfall, and it was centered around us._

_The Precursors could not trust the chosen Forerunners as Guardians of all that exist, and planned to pass the role down to us -Humanity. _

_The Forerunners could not stand the mere idea of losing their power, and drove their Gods to near extinction. The Precursors only survived to come back with a vengeance._

_I often dwelt on whether or not life should really be consumed by the Flood as a punishment. But I remember that the decisions of a few to not reflect on an entire race. How many Forerunners defended the Precursors? How many refused to agree with the Forerunner's brutality against the Precursors?_

_The Precursors were also not a universal mind, and some did not want the Flood to absorb every living thing that exists. If even the Precursors had different opinions based on them not being a singular mind, what right do they have to change it so everything is universal?_

_Thinking about it, I found it similar with the Office of Naval Intelligence. I hated everyone who were employed by them, but what if they had opinions of their own? _

_The Gravemind only confirmed my theories when he showed me that this was Rhine Dorhan's last mission before he retired from the Office of Naval Intelligence. The Gravemind showed me that Rhine was disgusted by the Office of Naval Intelligence's work, and wanted nothing more to do with them. But he did agree that their work saved Humanity. _

_I no longer hated Rhine. I actually wanted to kill him not long ago. Now, I wanted him to live so he could be with his daughter that he so desperately wanted to get back to. I would make Nai see this as well._

_I couldn't believe the possibility that we both wouldn't see things the same way as looking back down the cut out tunnel through the Kryptonite's interiors, I saw what couldn't be described approaching us. _

_Even in our dreams, the figure had no boundaries._

_What was it? I didn't know. It represented both me and Nai, but it was also a demonic creature in features._

_Was I looking at a collective mass of both me, Nai, Eric and 098? _

_Along with us, Did it represent our demons? _

* * *

**Installation 06 Timeline.**

**[DATE]-[****November**** 9, 2547 ****[1238 Hours] Human Military Calendar]**

**[LOCATION]-[****UNSC**** _Kryptonite_, On-Route To Officer Lounge Via Makeshift Tunnel, Installation 06]****  
**

**[POV]-****[Red Jsarez****]**

* * *

My blood oozed from the creatures' mouth as it cocked its head, the dim light of the corridors we pasted through reflecting on its skin, shining out every small detail.

"Do you- do you see it?" I asked Nai as she stopped beside me. I felt her stress and anxiety at looking at the creature- was it a creature? Could it be classed a creature?

Nai took a deep breath. "Yeah, I see it."

"Captain, Petty Officer," I heard White say as his footsteps stopped to indicate that he was behind us. "is everything okay?"

The dim lights showed the creature smile before it seemingly faded into thin air, leaving both me and Nai baffled.

I felt Nai's heart beat increase; her stress levels rise. Something was wrong...

"Listen, with all due respect, we need to-"

Courtney spun around before White could finish, smashing her clenched fist across his cheek. "DON'T EVERT TOUCH ME! _EVER!_" She screamed before storming past White to catch up with Lynda, the four Marines, three doctors, and 'Lodam and Anve who were all looking back to us at the sound of screaming.

White let out a pained grunt as he began rubbing his cheek, turning his head from looking at Nai to look at me. "I don't- what-... What happened there?"

_(Her precipitous surge of pugnacity is correlated with her elapsed emotions directed at the __ palpator ,et prohibita zonis_) I translated this as 'her sudden attack was caused by past emotions related to Eric' which only further supported my theories of this thing being our demons. Was she seeing something that I wasn't? _(I can corroborate your conjecture) _I translated this as 'I can confirm your theory' which must have meant that the Gravemind saw what Nai saw by its psychological connection with her.

But what did she see? _(A semblance of the palpator ,et prohibita zonis) _So she saw an illusion of Eric instead of the creature I was seeing.

Noticing that I wasn't answering, White lowered his head slightly as he began to make his way up the corridor towards the rest of the group. "Sir, wait," I turned around quickly. White also stopped and turned to face me. "Sorry, about not answering you, I was thinking on what just happened."

"It's okay," White reassured me. "But... what happened?"

I looked past White to see 'Lodam standing at the edge of the group, cocking his head back towards the direction we were going as if saying 'come on'. "It's a long and complicated story; one we don't have time for."

"Right, of course." White nodded in acknowledgement before he turned back around and continued back up to the group, me on his tail.

"I'll tell you later, sir, that's a given." I assured him.

White nodded, not turning back to face me. I could see he was nervous as Nai was standing behind 'Lodam, waiting for us. Not saying a word, Nai waited for White to pass both her and 'Lodam and head to the front of the group before raising her head from gazing at the ground to look at me, remorse in her eyes.

"Shit." She muttered under her breath before she turned back around and followed 'Lodam back up to where the rest of the group was waiting for us. I took up the rear, checking every now and again if the figure was still there.

It never left us.

As we all filed down the tunnel, I began examining my surroundings. I analyzed what happened. It looked like 'Lodam had cut straight from the officer's lounge to my recovery room; cutting into multiple corridors and through a lot of walls. Thankfully, the corridors were still sealed off by Timmy, so we didn't have to worry about being ambushed. But Timmy could open the doors at anytime, and we might not hear them. So the doors in corridors further back could open, and some of the mutineers could come up behind us.

Thinking about the makeshift tunnel, I wondered how much annoyance 'Lodam must had gone through to cut through the multiple walls. I questioned if it was at all possible, but concluded that the power of Covenant tech was still out of my reach of knowledge. Thankfully, the interior of _Charons _wasn't really a priority for the designers, and the walls remain, to this day, thin with all the effort being placed on the hull.

Thinking on this, I realized that the officer's lounge was one floor above us, so they must have cut a hole in the floor of the officer's lounge. This was confirmed once we reached the end of the tunnel, and saw a large rectangle hole in the roof.

White inspected the hole for a few minutes before he nodded to an invisible individual in the officer's lounge which must have told him that the coast was clear. White then turned to face Anve. "Mind giving me a hand?" The Elites had to cut the tunnel big enough for them to fit through, so the roof was pretty high.

Anve let out a grunt as he pushed past two Marines in front and hefted White up by his waist. It didn't take a genius to realize that Anve was in a _very _uncomfortable position -yet he still had the other Marines and doctors along with me and Nai to lift up; I actually found a bit of amusement at his task.

Eventually we all made it through the hole with me being heft up last. Once I was in the officer's lounge, I analyzed the area. It looked like White came with two Marines when he visited 'Lodam for whatever reason, and those Marines had taken up a defensive position near the entrance to the officer's lounge, taking cover behind the couches that they moved. Kri, Suras, and the Grunts were backing the Marines up with Freyn guarding the hole.

Freyn looked a lot better, and he no longer had his arm in a sling, and he seemed to be holding his carbine just like he did before he was attacked by the Drones.

The entrance to the officer's lounge had no door, and this often bothered me for security reasons to make a safe-haven if the Covenant ever invaded a ship. Now, I was thankful as Timmy couldn't lock us in here by sealing the door.

"So," I turned to face Nai who was watching Lynda order the other Marines to the perimeter. "What's the plan?"

She turned from watching Lynda to face me. "To be honest... I really have no idea; I mean, we're trapped here, and it doesn't look like we're going anywhere without the Elites cutting through more interiors."

I turned my head behind me to see 'Lodam standing idling near the perimeter, watching for movement. "I doubt he'll be up for that." I replied as I turned my head back around to face Nai.

"He doesn't have to as last time I checked, you had training in the handling of Covenant weapons."

"I doubt he'll give me his energy sword after I lost Anve's." I replied.

"Anve's an idiot, 'Lodam's not-"

"He _is _an idiot if he think he can fight me and win."

Nai rolled her eyes. "You guys ain't gonna be fighting each other, for God's sake. What this is," Nai gestured to me then to 'Lodam. "is a silly feud fed on by a personal hatred. You're both soldiers; you both kill without-"

"I'm not a soldier, Nai; not by choice. I never wanted to be a soldier, and I still don't like being a soldier. What _I am_ is a machine, and in the end, I'll die for Humanity, not ONI or the UNSC. And I _will _kill him; nobody will stop me. When the time comes, I'll squeeze his life out of his eyes."

"Careful," Nai warned me. "He might hear you."

I slightly grinned as I called out to 'Lodam. "'Lodam, just talking about how I'm gonna kill you here, you got a problem with that?"

'Lodam didn't turn his gaze from watching the corridors, but replied nevertheless. "Keep you strategy to yourself as an uneven duel can hardly be considered a duel at all."

I cocked my head in a mocking manner at Nai who let out an annoyed sigh. "You're both acting like children."

I shrugged. "I ain't much off as all that emotional control shit was taught to 098. 'Lodam? Who knows? Sangheili aging hasn't been researched, so 'Lodam could be a teen in he's race's years for all we know."

Nai muffled a chuckle before a serious look appeared on her face. "We should leave the chit-chat for later."

"Agreed," I replied as I turned and made my way over to 'Lodam. "Hey, I need your sword."

'Lodam let out what I figured was a scoff. "Losing Anve's blade incites doubt within my mind that you can relinquish my blade back to me when the future time comes to unfold."

I turned back to face Nai and gave her a look that said 'I told you so'. Nai rolled her eyes, but suddenly stopped and stared at something behind me. Wasting no time, I drew my M6D and spun around as fast as I could, only to have my pistol aiming at the figure.

_(The __semblance? Does it grasp no confinements?)_ The demonic creature violently formed into the exact figure of Halsey. Her dark hair, her cold eyes, her stern face. It was an exact copy of her. "Red... do you hate me? Do you hate me for what I did?"

_(Do not respond to this semblance) _I didn't need the Gravemind to tell me. I calmly lowered my weapon and holstered it; what others couldn't see didn't exist. My mind couldn't harm me -or could it? After all, that dream harmed me. _(I seek where this semblance is, and reassure its inevitable extinguish)  
_I hoped that the Gravemind would hurry as next time, I may lash out like Nai did, and my punch could do more than leave a bruise.

"Have you finally ceased your farce?" 'Lodam asked me. I guessed that pointing my gun at a wall could raise questions; questions I didn't want 'Lodam asking.

Ignoring his question, I raised one of my own. "If you aren't going to give me your sword, can you _at least _help us."

'Lodam let out a low growl. "I was awaiting your proceedings! Do you believe I made a plan to stand around and await our foe?"

I resisted growling back at him. "How the hell am I meant to know any of this?"

"Can you not see into the minds of anyone, and witness their thoughts?"

I didn't push it. "Can you just get up to the front before we start killing each other?"

'Lodam aggressively clicked his mandibles. "I have needs to have knowledge of WHICH DIRECTION I MUST CUT IN!"

His sudden roar almost made me jump, but I maintained my composure. It was Nai who answered him. "The mess is our best chance."

"Yeah, the crew's likely finished lunch, but the mess remains full all the time." Lynda added.

"_I am ecstatic_ that I shall have within my mind the smell of your disgusting food soon." Anve joked.

"We ain't particularly fond of what you eat either." Lynda retorted.

"Enough," 'Lodam growled as he pushed past me, bumping me back purposely and making his way to the entrance of the officer's lounge before turning back to face all of us. "Needless to say... I STILL DO NOT KNOW WHERE YOUR 'MESS' IS!"

White let out a light chuckled. "Tulnai, Herald, you're with me. We'll take point with 'Lodam."

"Parker, Dalton, Freud, you guys take the rear." Lynda added. Wade Tulnai, Jacob Dalton, George Parker and Nancy Herald were the Marines selected by Lynda to guard me while I was in recovery. Another four Marines were ready for a shift change, and were likely in the mess. Albert Freud and Jayden Gray were the Marines that came with White when he came to see 'Lodam earlier, and were the Marines that remained in the officer's lounge with the Diverted while White went with 'Lodam and Anve to help us.

"The rest of you's keep to the middle of the formation." Lynda concluded with everyone immediately getting into position. The docs were in the center of the long, but thin formation with the Elites and Kri taking up the side flanks. 'Lodam was in the lead with White right behind him. And behind White was Tulnai and Herald.

We didn't go far down the corridor before we came across the door sealing off the corridor leading up to the officer's lounge -the corridor we were currently in- and the junction with three more corridors. If I remembered correctly, the left corridor in the junction led to the mess-hall.

'Lodam wasted no time in cutting through the door, and I saw that he had no problem with it, and seemed like he was cutting through jelly which explained how both he, Anve and White got to us from the officer's lounge so quickly.

Thinking of jelly made me remember the treats Mendez often gave those who succeeded in certain challenged. I only really got jelly when I was assigned to John's team, and we won whatever challenge Mendez set up for us. John _always _won. Though not at first, he eventually _always _won.

"Shit," Nai cursed about as 'Lodam cut through the door to the corridor we needed to go through -the second door in two minutes. "The Hybrids."

I wasted no time in reassuring her. "Timmy told the Hybrids what happened, and they don't plan on leaving."

"Thank God." Nai led out a sigh of relief. Thinking about it, it was lucky that this topic was bought up as everyone seemed so focused on the matters at hand.

"Do not thank your pathetic and fake deity," 'Lodam growled has he kicked the now cut opened door back with his armored hoof. "Thank that the Hybrids are much more compliant than your measly race is."

"Our 'pathetic' and 'fake' deity has more chance of being real than yours." Freud remarked.

"The fake Gods, the Forerunners, existed," 'Lodam replied. "What proof do you have that your deity exists?"

"Some things don't require proof to exist. You just have to believe they exist."

'Lodam didn't reply. He must had heard wisdom in those words. But my hopes were diminished once we all went through the doorway and entered the next corridor. "That is the most unintelligent things that has ever cursed my mind."

"You have a nerve to mock our religion." Lynda growled.

"Didn't your religion dictate the annihilation of our entire race?" Herald added.

"And your religion has never dictated genocide to a lesser extent before?" 'Lodam questioned. "Do not deny it; I have done research into your pathetic, war driven history, and I can only shudder at the thought of your race controlling the Universe."

"We're more worthy than you." Herald muttered. I knew shit had hit the fan when 'Lodam spun around.

'Lodam was about to say something that I feared would spark an argument when Tulnai spoke up -which was odd for him. "No one has any right to rule over another."

'Lodam turned to face Tulnai. "Do you not fight for an oppressive leadership? Do you not to this very moment fight those who seek to rid themselves of your control?"

Tulnai stared 'Lodam down, his eyes full of cold anger and hate. "I fight for Humanity, not our leaders.

'Lodam spun back around, seemingly tired of the argument. "_How very noble_."

From what I picked up when the Gravemind analyzed Tulnai's persona, he was a quite, silent soldier who only spoke when it was necessary. Speaking out to 'Lodam went against his character, but I guessed it had something to do with Tulnai's personal hate for the Covenant; 'Lodam in particular. Nai knew of Tulnai's hatred and feared for what Tulnai would do. Little did she know that Tulnai wasn't planning on assassinating 'Lodam, but was just watching him and the Diverted to make sure they didn't do anything as out of all the people aboard this ship who didn't trust the Covenant, he was the worst.

Unfortunately for Tulnai, 'Lodam knew that he was watching him, and was anticipating an assassination. I would have to speak to Tulnai after this, and warn him to keep his distance.

We continued without any more _interruptions _for another five minutes until we came across another door that led to a junction. "Let this be a lesson," 'Lodam said as he carved the door down. "Do not put such tasks as controlling a ship into the hands of an Associated Intelligence; they are deceptive, unreliable-"

Shots from a MA5B rung out and bullets deflected off 'Lodam's shields as we hurried through the new doorway and into the junction to take cover. The Elites took up the rear, and protected us from the bullets with their energy shields as we made it through before they too hurried through the doorway to take cover.

None of this made sense; Dorhan wanted to take us alive, and emphasized that the Diverted weren't to be harmed. _(It is the Puer palpator) _The Gravemind then showed me the mind of Ivan Roras, and I saw his intentions. He broke off from Fireteam Night who were going to ambush us further up ahead, and planned on killing us out of madness. He molested over 200 girls. Despite my attempts to not let resentment get in the way, I couldn't help the childish part of me kicking in. It took all I had not to run out there and try to kill him.

"Red, who is it?" Nai asked me, panic her voice. I felt pain in my left arm which meant that she was hit, but it felt like a graze, so I didn't worry

"Ivan Roras. He's off his nutter, guys, he wants to kill us." I elaborated.

"Your weak minds shall not be our downfall." 'Lodam said.

"You have energy shields," Lynda stated. "go out and kill him."

"Is he even still there?" Anve asked.

"Yes, yes he is," I confirmed. "He may be nuts, but he's not blowing off rounds like an idiot."

"He just was!" 'Lodam growled in annoyance. "Used correctly, that weapon may have brought one of our shields down and killed us. Instead, the fool shot at all of us at once with a non controlled fire rate."

"So you admit that our weapons are effective?" Lynda asked.

"I NEVER SAID THEY WERE NOT!" 'Lodam roared in annoyance.

_(He is gone) _I noticed the Gravemind wasn't using his puzzling vocabulary which must have meant it understood the gravity of the situation, and wasn't playing around. "He's gone." I informed them.

"Where?" Lynda asked.

_(The medical bay. His intentions are disgusting but __intriguing) _What were his intentions? _(I could tell you, but it is more interesting to make you wonder) _This could be a problem, and it seems that the Gravemind still wanted to play around despite the situation.

"The medical bay. The Gravemind says he's planning something bad, but won't go into specifics. He's moving fast and I recommend you send me after him."

"Go, go!" Nai told me, and I immediately sprinted out of cover and approached Suras.

"Give me your blade, now!" I ordered him and he quickly grabbed it off of his hip and tossed it to me.

"You are never going to see that again." 'Lodam warned Suras as I turned to face Nai.

"Fireteam Night are just up ahead and plan on ambushing you; Timmy may change this now that I've mentioned it, but _be careful_." I then turned around and sprinted through the makeshift doorway and back into the corridor we just came from, and rushed after Roras, relying on the Gravemind to warn me if I was about to run into danger. I felt like I was overreacting as I was _really _running. But I remembered that if a zombie-flytrap creature can find something disgusting, it's incomprehensibly disgusting. And Roras was already a loose cannon, so he could be planning anything. But why would he go from trying to kill us to something else? _(He's mind is __demented and twisted. What decisions he makes are only temporarily) _Did that mean he might stop his intended plans? _(No. He has desired to do this for years) _For years?

"Roras? Roras?" I heard a voice call. _(Four up ahead. They are foe) _"What the hell was that all about?"

I turned a corner to see four Marines in body-armor watching as Roras ran around a corner further up ahead.

"What?" One of the Marines asked as I took cover behind a corner. "The Spartan? Shit, Timmy, why didn't you tell us earlier?!"

They knew I was here, and I prepared my M6D. A single shot from my pistol would kill someone if it hit the right spot. But I was hoping that these Marines were smart enough to know that it's not really the best course of action to engage a Spartan. _(These fools believe they can defeat you since you have no armor and a pistol)_ They knew I had a pistol? Timmy must had informed all of the mutineer's of our progress. But it was odd of him to not had informed these Marines that I was coming their way until now.

"Sierra, you're outnumbered and outgunned. Give up, please, I don't want to fight you, I just to go home and see my baby girl again." One of the Marines -likely the leader- told me. I wasn't surrendering. But then I remembered what it was like losing someone you loved. Did I want to be the cause of anguish? I wouldn't surrender, but I wouldn't kill these Marines either.

"If you want to see your daughter again, I recommend you turn back around and piss off." I warned him. I wouldn't actually kill him, but intimidation was my best weapon here.

"I can't do that, Sierra," I heard the Marine reply. I couldn't work out who it was by his voice, so I probably hadn't met him before. "if I do, I'll be locked up by ONI for the rest of my life. I'll take my chances here."

'Shit' was what I instantly thought. If it came down to it, I figured I could take out their kneecaps. Timmy would redirect some medics to help them, and they wouldn't bleed out. But I still didn't want to harm these Marines as they were only doing what they needed to do to see their family again. In their position, I would do the same.

Perhaps I didn't need to fight them. "Listen, Gunnery Sergeant Ivan Roras is heading to the medical bay. I don't know what he's planning, but it's bad according to my source. If you don't want blood on your hands, you better stand the hell down."

"Nice try." A different Marine said. _(Your foolish compassion shall be the end of a life. Incapacitate these fools; I am eager for you to see the devastation the __Puer palpator will inflict) _

"Come with me, help me stop him. I'll give you my weapon and everything; just trust me!" _(To your left) _I quickly snapped my head around to see a young male in pilot fatigues walk towards me. He put his finger to his lip as if telling me to be quiet before taking cover next to me. _(He means to assist you) _Why? How did he know what was happening? _(He overheard your words with the fools and fears your words of Roras may be true. Be wary, the Ancilla has warned the fools of his presence)_

"Two of you won't change anything. Just surrender; there's no need for violence." The Marine leader pleaded. Roras was likely closing in on the medical bay, so I had no time.

How close where they? Could I sprint to them? _(Yes. Go. NOW!) _I spun out of cover to see that the Marines were quite close to me. Not stopping, I sprinted into them, landing a punch into the face of a Marine with a shotgun before I spun my leg around to kick another Marine in the chest, sending him flying into the corridor's wall.

I spun back around to disarm the lead Marine of his assault rifle before I flipped the rifle around in my hands and butted him in the chest with it. He fell to the ground where I swung a low kick into his head, sending his limp, hopefully unconscious, body flying across the ground.

I spun to face the last Marine, but he was about to fire, and I couldn't get out-of-the-way. Since my assault rifle was already risen to face him as I never turned around in a combat situation without my weapon raised, I shot three rounds which pierced his plated armor to have blood bubbling out of his mouth and between the gaps in his armor. I killed him, but I had no choice.

The Marine that I kicked into the wall got up as I hadn't fully incapacitated him. He looked at his comrade that I just killed, and was shell-shocked just long enough for me to butt him with my assault rifle.

I didn't have time to recover as I heard: "Don't move." and I turned to the sound of the voice to see the pilot with his M6C raised at me.

"I had no choice." I told him, keeping very still as to not make him shoot me, but nevertheless keeping my assault rifle raised .

He kept his weapon raised at me. "Go, get to the medical bay. I'll catch up. But if I don't find you there, I'll track you down and kill you." I nodded before sprinting back down the hall.

_(You are too late) _"NO!" I yelled as I sped down the corridor. I knew Human weakness; I knew what the mind was capable of doing to someone. Roras was dangerous, and I couldn't let him go out of control. And with the ship being in lock-down, he could freely move about and do what he wanted. But what did he want to do?

The doors began opening which meant that Timmy wanted me to get to the medical bay ASAP. "Timmy, what's he doing?" I asked out loud in hoping the AI would reply over the corridors' intercoms, but he didn't.

I began panicking after I came across the body of a Marine with a few M118 FMJ bullet holes in his armor plating. Roras was out of control, but I was getting close to the medical bay. Both Brian Davis and Tom Harvad were in the medical bay, and I didn't want anything bad to happen to them. But why else would he want to go there? The nurses? Did he want to rape a nurse?

I grunted as I sped towards the door to the medical bay which was open with the control panel looking busted. Roras must had arrived before Timmy fully realized what he was intending, and destroyed the control panel to prevent Timmy from locking him in until security arrived.

I sped into the medical bay and quickly analyzed the area.

Chief Medical Officer Howard Klyn was sitting on his chair, leaning over his desk with a knife in the back of his head. Several other doctors were lying around the room with bullet holes riddling them. Harvad was on the ground, a knife in his chest, Lex Tyre was still laying on his bed, unharmed and Davis was lying on his bed, eyes wide opened as he watched Roras do something to someone he was leaning over on a cot.

I raised my assault rifle as I carefully approached Roras. There was a sound... flesh being cut. The worst came to my find. I discreetly flanked Roras to see what he was doing. What I saw almost made me grunt and jump back.

He was leaning over Lieutenant Amber Wong, a knife shoveled up her genital as he worked the knife around. He was cutting her genital area open into a _huge, gaping hole_.

What ran through someones head to make them do something like this? What possible aspect of a brain could make someone do something like this? Can a Human brain even be able to think up something so evil? Could a Human really be such a monster?

"Petty-" Davis muttered. "Off-... plea-.. _please kill him!_"

Roras turned around to face me, a giant, horrific grin on his face. He was not a good looking man; bald head, rough brown/black goatee, low and sharp eyebrows, a round face with a sharp jaw, and his cold, sharp blue eyes and pale complexion only made him more menacing. He was covered in scars and tattoos, but there was no mistaking; this man was not an ODST. "Been wanting to try this for years. But you see, little girls," I stared coldly at Roras, waiting for the slightest reason for me to shoot him. "And I just couldn't do it to an adult as they don't fancy me." Why was he telling me this? Why didn't he try to kill me so I could in turn kill him? "But someone I once knew as a little girl," He eyed Amber. "small universe."

This man was Human, nothing could change that. No matter what you do, you're always Human. But he was without his mind; insane, mad, broken. I believed in redemption for someone; Morgan Toless was a prime example of what redemption could do. But this man, this savage was beyond the privilege of redemption. He had no mind of logical sense or understanding. All he cared about were his primitive, savage motives.

I fired my MA5B, send a round through Roras's head with the impact tearing the front of his head open, and the bullet splitting through the back of his head with brain and blood following bullet only to shatter and splatter across the wall behind him.

Roras fell back over Amber Wong, dead. I wasted no time in throwing my assault rifle down before I hurried over, pushed Roras's body off Wong, and checked her vitals.

No pulse. She likely went into shock, and died of blood loss. Roras really dug into her, so the pain must had rivaled that of what I felt while I was held captive by the Gravemind.

I started checking over the vitals of the doctors and Harvad. Two docs managed to survive, and Harvad made it as well. It was likely because Harvad engaged Roras in melee combat, and Roras didn't put any effort in killing him other then stab him with one of his many knives that he had on him. He was unconscious, though, and the bruising on his face and broken nose told me that Roras smashed his heel into Harvad's face. Harvad was lucky to be alive in my opinion.

I stabilized the docs and Harvad with Bio-foam and bandages before I went over to check Davis. "You okay, Corporal?" I asked him. It didn't look like Roras put any effort into killing Davis. Perhaps he found it arousing to have someone watch -I didn't know. All I knew is that Davis wouldn't come out of this with his usual joking personality intact.

"_Dang_," Davis muttered. "He- _he-_"

I heard footsteps and spun around with my M6D at the ready only to see the pilot standing in the entrance way, his eyes widened. "Who did this?"

"Roras. Don't ask me why as it's bad enough with just myself asking that."

"No. This wasn't done by a Human."

"Yes, _it was_." I emphasized.

"We have our own opinions," The pilot replied as he turned around and stuck his head around the corner to check the corridors to see in anyone was coming before concluding that it was safe and approached me. "I'm glad I let you go." He mustn't had seen Amber as he jumped back, gagging when he saw her.

"_What the?!_" He gagged, vomiting onto the ground.

"Again, Roras." I explained as I helped Davis to lean up in his bed.

"That confirms it," The pilot wheezed. "This wasn't a Humans work, but that of a monster." The pilot was quite young, and had a light black stubble going across his face. His skin was of average complexion, but it looked like he was Hispanic in nature, but his accent didn't back it up. Perhaps one of his parents was white. His eyes were normal and brown and his eyebrows were low. His lips were small and thin and his nose nice, thin and straight. He was good-looking for a male, but I couldn't really confirm if he got a lot of attention from the opposite sex as I wasn't in a position to judge. I also guessed that his hair was shaved to a buzz cut, but he was wearing a standard pilot cap so I couldn't see. He seemed... _very average _in appearance -a young pilot that would be lucky yo survive this war._  
_

After analyzing the pilot and concluding that he was no danger -at the moment- I began checking Davis over. He was shell-shocked to say the least and would likely come across multiple mental problems because of this. Once I concluded that Davis was okay, I helped him out of the medical bay where I sat him against the wall before dragging the wounded out; they didn't need to see this once they woke up.

The pilot helped me move the unconscious bodies. "So, what's happening?" He asked.

"Lieutenant Dorhan's at the helm of a mutiny. It's a long story."

"I guess it's related the Captain finding out that you were kidnapped by ONI, and wants to go against them?" The pilot asked as we carefully placed one of the bodies down.

"Yeah. If you're loyal to the Captain, I recommend listening to me. But be warned, ONI may have you locked up for it. If you don't want that," I gestured to the corridor. "them I'm giving you _one chance _to leave."

The pilot sat down on the grated floor. "Once, back in UNSC space, the Cap was ordered to send all her Longsword pilots out to engage a formation of Seraphs so a ship could move in to take out a Corvette. It was a suicide mission, and FLEETCOM knew it. If we went out there... the Corvette would tear us apart. The Cap knew this, and refused to send us out there to die," He raised his head from looking at the ground to face me. "I'd be dead if not for your sister. What loyalty do I owe the higher-ups? I was expendable to them, and I will spend the rest of my life in a small box if means paying the Cap back."

I slightly grinned at his loyalty. "What's your name?"

"Lieutenant Will Gonzalez." I would had snapped a salute if I cared for UNSC regulations anymore. Instead, I nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well, Gonzalez, I need to get to the mess hall," I eyed the wounded. "Can you stay here and watch them?"

"I'll be arrested once the team Timmy has likely called upon arrives, but promise me you'll get me out once you succeed in kicking Dorhan's ass."

"I can't promise that we'll succeed, but if we do, I'll get you out myself." I gave Gonzalez a hand up.

"See you on the other side, then." He tapped my shoulder in a general military manner. A sign of respect for those with a careful eye for it.

"Will do." I nodded as I picked up my assault rifle that I bought out with the bodies, reloaded it, and sped back down the hall. As I suspected, Timmy sealed all the doors back.

But that wouldn't stop me.

* * *

**Installation 06 Timeline.**

**[DATE]-[****November**** 9, 2547 ****[1318 Hours] Human Military Calendar]**

**[LOCATION]-[****UNSC**** _Kryptonite's _Officer Lounge, Installation 06]****  
**

**[POV]-****[Rhine Dorhan****]**

* * *

I studied Franti's face and eyes. His cold, sharp eyes betrayed his stoic composure, and showed sadness and remorse. But he didn't say a word, and simply shook his head as if dismissing the news as he took a seat on one of the moved couches.

I was devastated; I had no idea Roras would take all this distraction to act on his own personal motives. But there was no indication; no signs that he was going to do what he did.

Good people died because I underestimated Fireteam Night, and that blood would remain on my hands until the day I die. How would that affect my family? How would they handle dealing with me when if I end up having post traumatic stress disorder? Would I ever see my family again?

I could think like that; I would see them again. It wasn't a case of me wanting to see them again... my wife's life hanged in the balance. She was already suffering from strong clinical depression, and me announcing my departure for a rotation of two years almost broke her, and she attempted to commit suicide. If I didn't return, she _would _end her life, and my daughter would be left an orphan. I couldn't allow that.

I turned around and calmly left the officer's lounge that we had secured with Fireteam Location following me.

Night was meant to ambush the Captain and the rest of the rebels, but I pulled them back after Timmy told me that the Gravemind was playing nice, and was giving Sierra-098 all the Intel he needed to undermine us and our efforts to detain them.

We had the Monarch with us as he wanted to follow Human protocol, and his Sentinels would assist us in detaining the rebels, but wouldn't harm them or allow harm to come on them. The Monarch also communicated with the Monitor over distance, and the Monitor has led his support with an attachment of Enforcers on their way while its Sentinels started patrolling the corridors.

We had the Captain within our grasp, but we just needed more time to close in on her and arrest her. I hoped that no more blood would be spilled, but Sierra-098 had already killed a Marine, so there was likely he would go further. Though, Timmy reassured me that Sierra-098 only killed the Marine in self-defense, but that didn't justify it. Still, I hoped it was the case because if it was, then Sierra-098 wasn't planning on gunning down every Marine he saw.

The Captain I was more worried about since no engagements had happened with her yet. But if one did, how would it play out? Why couldn't she just listen to me and stop this stupid shit she was doing?

Since Sierra-098 was separated from the rest of the rebels, there was no way he could warn them of our plans. There would be no way Sierra-098 would be able to reach the rest of the rebels and the Diverted before they got to the mess-hall, so I had all my nearby men prepare to ambush them once they arrived. The mess had been cleared out so unnecessary casualties wasn't a risk, but I was worried as a lot of the crew are now asking questions, and getting violent.

At least one thing was going according to plan, and that was the Hybrids remaining stationary in the brig which was good as I couldn't stress enough about what they would do if they chose a side and engaged the other. That's what made me worried about the Diverted. How would they play this out? Getting into a firefight with them in the middle could cause all kinds of grief. I concluded that the possibility of a firefight was too high, and the risks were also _too high_.

I placed my fingers onto my ear-piece. "Timmy, pull Hazard out of the mess-hall. We're gonna have to wait until we can separate the Diverted from the rebels before we can engage them."

"Affirmative." Timmy complied.

For an extra precaution, I had the Engineer detained as I still didn't know if it was loyal to us, the Monarch, or the Diverted. The Engineer's origin was still a mystery, and I wasn't going to take any chances.

"What's the plan? How're we going to do this?" Sergeant Major Edward 'Ship' Cruise, Fireteam Location's leader, asked me.

"We focus our attention on Sierra-098; if we can take him hostage, we might be able to negotiate with them." I answered.

"You hear that Timmy?" One of Location's members, Bruce 'Water' Fisher, asked Timmy over the secure COM we were linked to.

"Affirmative. Redirect all Fireteams to Sierra-098's location and detain him for negotiations with rebels and Diverted forces."

"Not all. Just Hazard, Embers and Ebony. Send about two dozen Sentinels as well. Night and Titan are to keep close to the rebels and Diverted while everyone else keeps the rest of the crew under a close eye." I corrected.

"Affirmative. Fireteam Hazard, Embers, Ebony and 24 Sentinels are to be redirected to intercept and capture Sierra-098. Fireteam Night and Titan are to keep within a close vicinity of the rebels and Diverted, and Fireteam Victory, Marshal, Glory, Vector, Missionary and the rest of the Sentinels are to keep the crew under control."

"That's right." I confirmed. I organized the new members of the 'mutiny' into Fireteams I made up on the spot. Human numbers in the 'mutiny' were still low, but the Sentinels made up for it, and I still hoped that we would get some more over to our side before shit hit the fan.

"Orders issued. What is your objective, Lieutenant?" Timmy asked me.

"I'm going to stick close to rebels and Diverted as well; I'll need to jump in ASAP once things get heated up."

"Affirmative. Updating navigation data to everyones' HUD-..." A few seconds past as Timmy did his AI magic. "...-done."

"Thanks." I smiled. Timmy was a convenient AI as he manage to go ahead and do stuff that I would had forgotten to mention myself. It was a shame that he was employed for ONI operations as his tactical advise and battle support for _actual_ military forces could be invaluable.

I heard Fireteam Night come up behind me. "Why do we get the boring work?" Franti complained as I heard his steps fall into my own pattern.

I let out an emotionless chuckle. "I'm not going to let your Fireteam off the hook again. For now on, there's going to be a short leash connecting you to me."

"Roras's actions do not reflect on out own," Franti growled. "We have more chance of taking the damn Spartan down then any stupid Marine has."

I let out a sharp sigh. "It _isn't_ going to happen, so just drop it."

"_WE AIN'T YOUR FUCKING PETS!_" Franti screamed behind me, making my ears burst into pain while also making me spin around while ears tightly as I gave him a look that said 'what the hell?!'

Franti placed his hand on his pistol, and Location raised their weapons while the rest of Night did the same. "_I've had enough shit from ONI_. What did they do? They saved us from execution for crimes _I DIDN'T COMMIT!_ That's the press, that's Humanity. I ain't gonna shed anymore blood for people who couldn't care less about my sacrifice!"

Anger flashed in my eyes. "You haven't got a choice!" I snapped at him.

"Typical ONI logic," Douglas growled. "thinking that they control everyone and everything," Douglas shook his head in annoyance.

"Not everyone!" I snapped at them. "Just you! Stop complaining, you could be worse off."

"Dead for crimes we didn't commit, you mean!" Morgan growled.

"Didn't commit? I agree, that was unfair. But _you _deserved to die."

"Yes, yes I do. But that'll be too easy on me."

I scoffed as I spun back around, signalling Location to continue with me at their rear. "Don't act like you're remorseful for what you are. Monsters don't have the brain capacity to show remorse. Now, get your asses into gear, and keep close to me."

"No." I heard Franti calmly but coldly reply, and I turned to face him again. I didn't like how this was going to turn out, but I was stubborn, and I wasn't going to let them win.

"Then none of you get your stupid IDs, and you _will_ get executed." I warned them.

"Fine by me," Franti shrugged. "but my boys don't like the idea."

"No one has to die," I reassured them. "Just _do as I tell you, for fucks' sake!_"

"No." Franti calmly replied. This was shaping up to be bad, but I wasn't going to let this pass.

I walked forward a bit. "Yes!"_  
_

Franti smiled. "You know, I'll be blunt and say that this ain't just me being _stubborn_. You fucked with one of my boys, so I'm not feeling so compliant anymore."

"What do you mean?" I asked him, excluding my panic; he didn't know what I think he knew, did he?

"I had the Monarch do some digging before it found out that it wasn't allowed to, and it told me some _nice _and _juicy _details relating to Wing here. He doesn't know yet, I wanted to leave it to a good moment to spring it."

"What do you mean?" Cylus questioned him. This was going to end bad, so I put my hand behind my back and silently signaled Location to be ready, it looked Night were preparing as well as both Douglas and Morgan looked like they were about to break out into a sprint.

"Rick, sorry I didn't tell you this sooner, but I think you'll agree that now's the better time-"

"Adam, what're you on about?"

"That Governor you assassinated, ONI was already planning on taking him out when you trotted along and did it for them. They were more than happy to shift the blame onto you to keep the public from finding out that their _lovely _Governor was corrupted. See how much your life means to ONI? _Nothing_ in the name of public image."

I almost let fear show on my face when Cylus's expression turned to one of rage and hate. But surprisingly, he smiled. "So, I was gonna die for ONI without their permission?" He began laughing when the rage suddenly returned and he raised his weapon. "NOBODY DOES AWAY WITH MY LIFE WITHOUT _MY _PERMISSION FIRST! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK ONI! AND FUCK _YOU_!"

Franti pulled out his Magnum, and I watched his armed hand _very carefully_. "Like I said, we're gonna sit this one out. Now, you're gonna go along with this, all we can all die _right here, right now_. What're you gonna choose, spook?"

This was the absolute last thing we needed; internal struggle would only bring us down. But my wife, Lisa, and Madison's face came to my eyes. I had to stop tears forming in the corners of my eyes; I wanted to see them more than anything in the world! I wanted to hold both my mentally challenged wife and my adorable daughter in my arms! I wanted to go home, that's all! But if I let Night go, then I'd be locked up by ONI for allowing traitors to go freely about their business. _I couldn't_ _win_!

I concluded that my chances were better in with Parangosky then they were here.

"Fine, do what you want. Just stay out-of-the-way." I gave in.

"That's the plan," Franti replied as he turned around and waved for the rest of Night to follow him back into the officer's lounge. "Sorry, Wing." He apologized to Cylus once they entered the officer's lounge. What else was said I couldn't hear, nor could I care to hear. I just turned around and signaled for Location to follow me as we continued to the rendezvous with Fireteam Titan.

I should had just shut up and sent them after the Spartan.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** Well this is the longest chapter I've done to date, but I hoped it offered a good read. I guess the beginning A/N can scratch about 1000 words or so off of the _actual _story segment of the chapter. But still, this chapter was _long_, and I hope nobody thinks I rushed it because of the amount I wrote in such a short time. Lets just say that I don't do much other than game a bit, study, and hang out on this these days, and _I think _I could be labeled a 'fast writer'_  
_**

**I hope this doesn't need saying, but I'll emphasize that what Roras did was _not _what I just made up in my mind, but inspired by crap I've come across in my life in the media added to the messed up creativity of my mind. What I'm trying to say is that I'm not insane or anything. **

**I'm kinda worried that having all the 'villains'as just plain hated characters isn't really mature of me. But you need to know who's bad and who ain't. Vale Nar 'Sarasee can be considered a 'villain' to some extent, but he's not really into the whole genocide of the Human race, so he seems good, and he is good. But he is the 'villain' for the main characters aboard the _Kryptonite_. Careekius is also a 'villain' who would kill the main characters without mercy, but he's still a 'good person'.**

**There's no 'good' or 'evil' in my mind, just sides and morals. Roras and Pity have no morality, so they are in the wrong, but that doesn't make them '_bad guys_' it just makes them, IMO, more fleshed out as they're insane as insane people, or aliens, can get. They don't do what they do because it's just them being 'bad'or '_evil_', they do what they do because they have mental disorders. While I have no idea what mental disorders they have, I can say that it's definitely that. Though, Pity's more arrogant and stupid than insane. I'm not gonna make these characters like Joffery Baratheon where they're just assholes without much explanation (abomination of incest may be a responsible ****explanation) these characters have dark pasts behind them Even Pity will be fleshed out so you know how he became so annoying, and as I'll also explain a bit with Roras as well, though researching the motives behind why these people do what they do may take some time and put a disturbing amount of disturbing info into my head. God, why did I make up such bad characters?!**

**Write, enough rambling, back onto topic.**

**I'd like to thank Bloodycyclone (They are, aren't they) for deciding to follow. If you want an OC based after you as I'm happy to acknowledge my reviewers with an OC as a thank you, please leave a single review so I know that you are ready this _now _rather than doing what I sometimes do, and just follow the story and come back to it after you've read another story. ****  
**

**Huh, longest chapter, and longest A/N, I better wrap this up!**

**Lynda Keyes - LyndaKey1**

**Timmy - The Timmynator (Hey, give us an update, are you still reading?)**

**Toless Morgan (Night's Angel) - NightsAnger**

**16807 Fleighted Fire - Fleightedfire**

**The Hybrids - Species Unknown**

**Tom McAllister (Wolf) - Curiouswolf**

**Wade Tulnai - gumskull4**

**Qrs 'Jaragsai - Qrs-jg**

**Skae 'Kuzomee - ArmoredFury**

**Albert Freud - Starart123**

**Rick Cylus (Night's Wing) - Nightwing141**

**David Larson - The Constitutionalist**

**Doctor Hallas Day - gruntbdayparty37**

**Adam Franti - Adam95F**

**Brian Davis - briandang131**

**Please tell me if I missed anyone, and as per usual, please review and point out any typos or lore mistakes. (I totally copied and pasted this all in from the last chapter)**

**********************************************************************************Thanks to this story's followers: ********************Nightwing141, lyndakey1, NightsAnger, THE REVIEWING MASTER,**** gruntbdayparty37, Species Unknown, briandang131, TheDragonGod66, Fleightfire, Qrs-jg, Adam95F, gumskull4, Curiouswolf, ARC N7, goldmonk, ArmoredFury, Mumble8, ultimate idiot, SpeedyNaomi, Hunter092, ShootingKill, hi ace50, SomeRelic, Pure Onyx, flaze, Rogenberg, BLASINGDRAKON, The Constitutionalist, Reichenfaust, ItzNikkiBlack, Bloodycyclone.**


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